One More Time
by Bravo Tango
Summary: The years go by and the residents go about their day. The occasional incidents arise where the crew assembles to resolve it over and over again. Same old Same old.
1. Pilot

**Hey all! This will be my next multi-chapter piece with my best girl Alice Margatroid. Now for some points to note before going into this piece. First is that I am not well-versed in the Touhou fandom; I never played the games and only read some doujins. This means that some aspects of the characters or their abilities may seem incomplete or different. Another factor is that there will be that some characters missing since again I have limited knowledge. I apologize if something seems out of place but this is my interpretation of these aspects.**

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

_'Blah' _— Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*_Blah_* — Sound effects in speech

(**_Blah_**) — Author's notes

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of** **Touhou Project; they belong to Jun'ya Ota aka ZUN. ****This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**

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"Did you see that one lady?"

"Which one?"

"The one with the hat."

"...Are you serious? There are so many ladies with hats—Wait do you hear that?"

"Yeah it sounds like—"

_Whoosh_

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"Hm. Progress but it needs some modifications."

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_Morning..._

_Yawn_

Alice Margatroid she covers her mouth. _'Oh my,'_ She stares at her clock. _'So much time has passed.'_ She leans back from the table and twitches one of her fingers; a doll floats to the table with a tea pot in its hands. As the doll pours tea into her empty cup, Alice re-examines her doll. The doll has a blue Victorian maid dress where the sleeves cover its arms and a white apron that covers the front. The puppet has some similarities to Alice; it has eyes that are the blue and blonde hair but it reaches to the middle of its back. There is a white capelet that is draped on its shoulders with a small red ribbon tied into a bow to secure the garment. Alice smiles as the marionette finished its task, "Thank you Shanghai."

Shanghai turns around and beams at Alice. "Shanghai!" The doll floats down to the kitchen to place the pot back.

_Knock Knock_

"Oi Alice. You awake yet?"

The shorter-haired blonde turns her head and raises her voice. "I will be down there in a moment Marisa." Alice stands up and walks to a large mirror in her room. She has a red hairband on the top of her head and the back of her hair is tied into a ponytail. Her dress is similar to Shanghai but Alice has no apron and her shade of blue is so dark it can match the night sky. The blonde has a similar capelet and red ribbon bow. In the middle of her dress there is a different red bow that seems to have a different design and stitch marks. On the other side of her waist there is a gold chain link. Satisfied, Alice clips her grimoire to her chain and makes her way down the stairs.

Alice walks to the door and opens it to reveal Marisa. She has her iconic witch hat on top of her yellow hair. The other blonde has weird black vest on top of her white short-sleeved shirt. She also has a white waist apron that covers her black skirt. On her hand is a broom that reaches over her head. Alice tilts her head up and looks at Marisa's hazel eyes. "Hello Marisa."

Marisa gives a small wave. "Yo."

Alice gestures to her home. "Do want to come in and have tea?"

Marisa shakes her head and grins, "Not this time. We got a little incident and I was wondering if you want to come with us to solve it ze."

Alice purses her lips. "I am visiting her today."

Marisa glances at Alice's waist-ribbon and immediately sobers up. "Oh. Um." She scratches the back of head. "My bad ze."

Alice stares as Marisa fidgets in place. She sighs, "I can come for a while but I will leave on my time."

Marisa brightens up. "Oh sure." She hops on her broom and starts to float. "Let's go ze."

Alice steps out and turns her head. "Shanghai. Hourai. With me." Shanghai and another doll floats to Alice. The other doll has similar clothes to Shanghai but its dress and eyes are red. Alice closes the door and follows Marisa.

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_Forest area..._

As Marisa and Alice floats down to a clearing, the blonde puppeteer notes the area has withered and died. _'The area of decay stops in almost a perfect circle.'_ Alice focuses on the center to spot two figures standing over a couple of bodies. _'The shrine maidens.'_

They land nearby and Marisa waves at the figures. "Yo. So what do we got?"

One of the figures perks up. "Hi Marisa-senpai. Sanae-senpai and I were waiting for you." The shorter person notices Alice. "A-Ah, hello Miss Alice. I didn't expect to see you." She gives a small wave.

Alice nods her head while the dolls wave back. "I will only be here for a short moment."

Sanae chimes in. "Thanks for your help though."

"It is of no consequence." Alice turns and looks at the shorter girl. She has black hair and brown eyes. The girl is wearing a white haori with a red pleated skirt that reaches to her ankles and a gohei on her hand. The girl notices Alice's stare and crouches back down to the bodies.

"Well," Marisa starts to walk in one direction. "Let's look around the area and search for clues ze."

Alice nods and walks to the opposite side of Marisa while the two maidens stayed near the bodies. She stops at the edge as she notes the clear divide of fresh and decayed grass. _'It seems to be 50 meters from the center.'_ The blonde walks over to a withered tree and her dolls take a piece of bark but it instantly crumbled in their small hands. _'There seems to be some residue of energy.'_ Alice then starts walking along the edge. _'Nothing different from before.'_ Alice stops as she spots Marisa.

The other blonde turns to the puppeteer. "Hey did you find anything on your part?"

"Anything organic seems to have decayed." Alice looks around. "I did not sense any curses or negative energy."

"Yeah," Marisa scratches her cheek. "I noticed that too." She looks at a decayed tree. "It's like something sapped away anything that was living."

"In any case, let us share our findings with the others." The duo witches walk to the other two.

Sanae is the first to notice them and stands up while the girl stays crouched. "Hey, what did you two find?" The witches repeat their notes. "Hmm," She gestures to the bodies. "It seems to be the same for these youkais." The green-haired lady taps her chin. "I can't think of anything or anyone that is capable of this."

"Same," Marisa puts her hands on her hips. "Do you think a new youkai slipped in?"

The conversation continues as Alice takes out a pocket-watch and clicks it open. _'There should be enough time.'_ The blonde pockets it and places her fist near her mouth. "Ahem." The three look over to Alice. "I am afraid I have to go now." She looks over to the girl. "I will be visiting the temple soon."

The girl quickly stands up. "O-Of course."

Marisa gives a wave. "See ya Alice."

Sanae slightly bows her head. "Thank you for your time and help."

Alice nods to them. "I wish you good luck for this incident." She and her dolls float away.

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_Home..._

The door opens and Alice walks through the living room while waving her hands. "Shanghai. Hourai. Cut a sheet of white paper and bring a red ribbon." Several dolls on shelves join the duo puppets as they collect materials. The blonde opens a closet to take out a pair of gloves and a pruner. With the equipment in hand, Alice walks out the door and moves to the side of her house. She stops in front of a crepe myrtle tree and puts on her gloves. With them on, Alice starts to prune the flowers from. One by one, the puppeteer places the branches near her side.

"Shanghai!"

Alice turns to the side to see the dolls with the sheet of paper and a red ribbon. "Thank you everyone." She places the pruners down and collects the branches. The blonde holds them up and inspects the flowers. The yellow stamens are at the center of the flower while the surrounding petals are pink with white edges. _'These are wonderful.'_ She holds them out for the dolls to wrap the paper around the flowers and tie it with the ribbon. After they finished, Alice gives her pruners and gloves to a doll and then waves her hand; all the dolls except for Shanghai and Hourai float back into the house. Once the dolls settle back in their original positions, Alice closes the door and turns to the duo. "Let us go." The three of them rise from the ground and float away from the house.

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_10 minutes later..._

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Alice looks down to see the cleaned buildings of the Hakurei Shrine. She watches as several humans walk up and down the stone path to stop at the donation box; they would pray and drop money into the box. Her attention shifts and she floats down to the backyard garden of the main building. Once her feet touches the ground, Alice takes in the scenery; the cherry blossom tree is in full bloom and the sōzu occasionally hits the rock. Taking a breath, the puppeteer makes her way to the tree while the dolls stay behind.

As she walks closer, she spots a slab of rock where it is surrounded by various types of flowers but the area at the front was left empty. Alice stops and places her bouquet down at the empty area. She stays at the spot and stares at the slab.

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After some time, Alice moves her hand close to her face and kisses her fingertips. She moves the hand and places them at the top of the slab. "I..." The blonde takes a breath. "I miss you." Alice stands up and steps back from the stone. The blonde fidgets with the ribbon on her waist. "I will come back soon." She slowly turns around and floats away with her dolls.

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On the front of the slab there are several words inscribed into the rocky surface:

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_Reimu Hakurei_

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**And fin for now.**

**Oh no Reimu!**

**Well here is the first chapter and I hope it is a decent introduction.**

**So for some notes:**

****-So I had this concept on my mind ever since I got into writing stories which was around 2017. That means certain characters won't show up in this story since there weren't introduced during that time. For example new characters such as Kutaka, Aunn, or Shion won't be mentioned.  
****

****-Another thing is that I'm going to assume people reading this would be familiar to the lore and how the characters would look like. I'll probably only describe them if there are some wardrobe or physical changes.****

****if there are other notes then I'll put them in the next chapter. I'll see you guys next time.****

****Thanks for reading****

****Constructive criticisms are appreciated****

****Bravo Tango out.****


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back everybody.**

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

_'Blah' _— Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*_Blah_* — Sound effects in speech

(**_Blah_**) — Author's notes

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of** **Touhou Project; they belong to Jun'ya Ota aka ZUN. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**

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_Alice hums as she flips a page from the book. After a few moments of reading, she notices someone landing beside her but she continues to read. A few more moments pass before the person sighs, "What's the point of coming here if you're just going to read a book?"_

_"I feel calm whenever I'm here." Alice is still looking at her book. "And are you finished with your cleaning Reimu?"_

_The shrine maiden places the broom next to her. "Taking a short break. And besides, gotta enjoy the view in front of me."_

_They were sitting in top of the giant red pillars that is on top of the mountain. Alice brings her head up and appreciates the view in front of them. "Indeed. It truly is beautiful."_

_"That too."_

_Alice turns to the side to see Reimu's stare and the blonde chuckles, "You're incorrigible."_

_Reimu places a hand behind the blonde's neck. "And yet you're still here."_

_"Indeed." Alice leans in to k—_

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Alice inhales as she wakes up and opens her eyelids. _'Reimu...'_ After a moment, she blinks as she hears the birds outside. _'...Another dream.'_ The blonde sighs as she pulls down the covers and stands up. She yawns as she looks at the clock. _'I should have enough time.'_ Alice snaps her fingers and several dolls float toward her. "Prepare tea and breakfast." The dolls nod their heads and float down to the kitchen.

The magician walks over to her workshop and sits down on her table. She opens the journal and starts to jot down notes. After a while, she taps her quill into the ink-pot but stops and turns to the door.

"Shanghai!" Shanghai and a squad of dolls are at the entrance with various utensils and a towel in their hands.

"Thank you everyone." She moves the journal and ink-pot out of the way as the dolls place the plates down. Alice turns as a doll floats nearby with a bowl of water and she washes her hands before using the towel. Once cleaned, Alice turns back to see hash browns, scrambled eggs, and bacon with tea on the side. The blonde settles in and picks up her utensils.

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_10 minutes later..._

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Alice cleans the corner of her mouth with a napkin. "Clean these for me please." The dolls collect the plates and float down to the kitchen. She looks up at the clock again. _'My appointment with the doctor is coming soon. Should I have the play before or after?'_ She stands up and makes her way to the closet. _'After should be the better option.'_ The blonde changes her clothes and ties her hair into a ponytail. _'Maybe I should add a new story?'_ Alice slowly nods her head and walks to another closet. _'Yes. I think the children will love it.'_

The puppeteer pulls out two large luggage cases and a smaller case. She claps her hands and various types of dolls float near her. "Everyone grab your kit and go into the cases." The dolls pick up costumes and props before they float into the cases. Alice opens the smaller case and places her journals inside. She looks back to see everything settled in the larger cases. She twitches her finger and watches as her duo dolls shut the case. "Thank you Shanghai and Hourai." The blonde snaps her fingers and a couple of dolls float into the room with several bags in her hands; the bags' contents are sweet snacks of various shapes. She puts them in her case and walks to the door.

Alice was about to exit the room but her eyes catch the hanging calendar that was pinned next to the entrance. _'Oh my. I almost forgot those two are coming home today.'_ She walks to a nearby shelf and takes out a piece of paper. She takes a quill and scribbles on it. With the note finished, she places the quill down on the table and makes her way to the door with case and paper in hand. She calls over her shoulder. "Let us go." The two marionettes follow their master with the large cases in hand.

She walks down the stairs and stops in the living room where there are numerous dolls sitting on the shelves. She weaves her hands in intricate gestures. "Accept our two guests into this home and push away anyone else." The dolls' eyes light up and then fade away. The blonde walks outside of her house and closes the door. She tacks the note on the door and floats toward the village.

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_Human Village_

As Alice gets closer to a wide building, she notes children playing on open ground and there are several adults on the sidelines. The blonde lands on the ground and she makes her way to one of the female adults. The lady has silver hair with blue highlights that reaches to her back. On top of her head is a rectangular blue hat that looks similar to the tengu's tokin hat.

The silver-haired lady shifts her attention to Alice and meets her halfway. "Good morning Alice." She waves to the dolls. "Hello Shanghai and Hourai."

Alice and the dolls nod their head. "Good morning Keine."

Keine looks at the cases and smiles, "Will you be doing your plays today?"

The blonde nods her head again. "Yes but I have an appointment at Eientei in 20 minutes." Alice glances to the side to see a couple of adults huddled together as they try to subtly stare at the blonde magician. _'Same reaction from my last visit here.'_ She looks back at Keine. _'I do wonder...'_ "If it is not too much trouble, would it be acceptable to leave these here while I am gone?"

"Oh?" Keine's eyebrows rise up. "Oh, um, sure. I can watch over them until you come back."

"My thanks," Alice waves her hand and the dolls place the cases near Keine. "Is Mokou around the area?"

"She went to get something from the stor—Oh," Keine looks behind Alice. "There she is."

The magician turns around to see a woman who looks in their 20s and her white hair is so long that it barely touches the ground. She has a white collared shirt and red pants with red suspenders. Mokou notices them and raises her hand. "Yo."

Keine greets her back. "Welcome back Mokou. Did you get what you wanted?"

The white-haired lady raises a bag from her other hand; on the front of the bag there is a logo of a four-legged animal that has two humps on the back. "Yeah. I got lucky before the line got too long." She looks to Alice. "Hey Alice. You doing plays today?"

Alice nods, "Yes but I like to go to my appointment with Eirin first. Can you take me to Eientei?"

Mokou shrugs, "Eh sure. I was planning to drop by anyway." She starts walking, "Later Keine."

Alice turns back to Keine. "I will be back later." The blonde follows after Mokou.

Keine waves as them. "See you two later."

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_Eientei_

Mokou and Alice stands in front of a gate. Mokou cups her hand around her mouth. "Oi! Anyone home?"

A few moments pass before the door opens to reveal a woman with purple hair and upright bunny ears appears at the entrance. She blinks at them. "Yes?"

"Yo Reisen." Mokou waves and then jerks her thumb to Alice. "She has an appointment. Also is the lazy hag here or is she bored to death?"

"Really?" Reisen turns to the blonde. "But miss Alice—"

_Pew_

Mokou jumps back as a beam of light pierces the ground and leaves a smoldering hole. She looks up and smirks, "Gotta try harder than that."

"It was just a warning shot." A woman in a pink long-sleeved shirt and a burgundy skirt that covers her legs stands descends from the air. Her black hair flutters as she lands to the ground. "Hag."

Mokou just raises the bag.

_Gasp_ "That's..." The black-haired lady points at the object. "How did you get that?"

"Like everyone else," Mokou leans on one leg. "By standing in line."

"But those lines are so long to wait at."

Mokou raises an eyebrow. "You do realize you're immortal right?"

"But it gets so booooring."

Mokou shrugs, "Oh well." She opens the bag and—

_Pew_

Mokou jumps and floats away from the beam. "Oi! Watch it you crazy—"

_Pew Pew Pew_

The woman chases after Mokou. "Give it to me!"

"Not a chance!"

_Fwish_

Seconds later orbs of fire and lasers start to fly in multiple directions.

"This is too early for their shenanigans."

Alice turns around to see a taller lady standing next to Reisen as they start at the battle. She has long silver hair that is tied into a large braid and a red-blue dress that has various celestial constellations sewn onto said dress. Alice nods in greeting. "Good morning doctor."

"Morning and I keep saying Eirin is fine." The doctor turns to Alice. "In any case, Reisen told me you had an appointment?"

Alice stares at the doctor as she adjusts her grip on the case. "Yes."

"Hm," Eirin scans Alice's body up and down. "I see." She turns to the smaller woman. "Take care of my other appointments."

Reisen bows her head. "Of course master." She opens the gate.

Eirin waves her hand. "Follow me."

Alice and her dolls trail after Eirin as the doctor leads them through the compound. Throughout their walk, Alice spots rabbit youkais playing the courtyard. They then reach into a secluded room at the far end of Eientei.

Eirin gestures to a chair. "Come sit." The blonde sits down and open her case to take out her journal. The doctor takes out her own notes and a pen. "So how was my advice from our last appointment?"

Alice thinks about her morning and then shows Eirin her journal. "Significant improvement."

"Hmm," Eirin scribbles onto her notes. "But I can do better. Let's see what we can do."

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_A few hours later..._

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Eirin offers Alice a bag and a set of instructions. "These should help."

"Thank you." Alice places her journal back into the case and accepts the items. She sets them beside her journal and closes the case.

The doctor slides open a window. "Kaguya! Alice needs Mokou to go back to the village."

A few moments pass before both of them float into view. Kaguya pouts, "Aww the fight was just getting good."

"I can tell," Eirin points at the corner of her mouth. "You have some leftovers Princess."

The duo turns to each other and their faces instantly light up; there are crumbs on both of their mouths.

"I-I see." Kaguya acts regal by covering mouth and floating into the compound.

Mokou, on the other hand, stuffs her hands into her pocket and turns around. She then turns her head and call out. "Oi Alice. I'll meet you at the front."

Alice walks closer to the window. "I will see you there." She turns to the doctor and offers her the bags of treats. "Thank you for your help Eirin."

The doctor accepts the bags. "Thank you. I'm sure the princess and rabbits will love these." Eirin closes the window and walks over to the door. "If you're in need of further assistance you can come back." She slides the door open.

Alice picks up her case and walks out the door with a nod to the doctor. "Until next time."

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_Human Village_

"Oh my." Alice stares at a crowd of children sitting on benches while the adults stand at the back. "This is quite the audience." She glances to the side to see a stage in front of the crowd.

"Yeah," Keine stops next to the blonde. "Word got around fast. Also," Keine tilts her head to the portable stalls on the side. "It seems like some of them are taking the opportunity again to sell more snacks and drinks."

Alice stares over the crowd again. "I best not disappoint then." She turns to Keine, "I trust the newcomers know?"

Keine smiles, "I made sure to tell them. They tried to lower the percentage cut but I told them that they would have to pack up and go." She gives a thumbs-up. "Good luck out there."

"Thank you," Alice and her dolls walk behind the stage to see the two large cases. She snaps her fingers and the dolls flip open the case; various dolls float out of the case. "Right," Alice claps her hands. "Let us do our best shall we?" The dolls nod and some of the dolls pick up the props. _'I do hope they do not have an adverse reaction on my illusions.'_ The magician walks up the stairs and stops at the center of the stage. "Good afternoon everyone."

"Good afternoon Miss Alice." The children greets as one.

"I apologize for being abrupt but let us begin." Alice waves her hands and the dolls bring out props to create a scene. "There was once a scholar who was traveling through the sea." A cutout of a ship was 'riding' through the waves. "But there was a terrible storm and his ship sunk and he was marooned onto a beach." The ship cracks into pieces and Shanghai in robes drops in the 'water'.

_-Transition scene-_

"The scholar wakes up to find himself in front of a lavish room with a large person at the center." Hourai in exquisite robes leans back on an exotic couch.

"So a newcomer washes up in my land." Alice's voice deepens and Hourai's mouth moves in conjunction. "What is your name stranger?"

Alice changes her pitch as Shanghai looks up. "I am Xie. Can you tell me where I am?"

Hourai opens her arms. "This is my land and I am the lord."

Xie bows his head. "I thank you for saving me your lordship."

The lord smirks, "I am happy to help. And so in gratitude you should serve under me."

Xie raises his read. "I-I must politely decline. I have to go back to my family."

The lord throws his head back and laughs, "AHAHAHAHA! There is no way out of this island."

"W-What?" Xie looks around and finally notices the guards and servants.

"Well," The lord stands up. "There is one way. Come." The scene changes to a mountain with a large boulder blocking an entrance. The audience 'ooh' and 'ahh' as an image of a mountain appear on the stage. A couple of dolls are hitting the boulder with stone picks. "You can try to break this boulder here."

Xie blinks and looks around to see trees on his back while the mountain is on her front. "This is absurd." He begins walking in one direction.

"Mister?" The scholar stops and turns to one of the villagers. "There is no way out."

Xie ignores them and keeps walking. Throughout the day, Xie has found no openings in the mountains and the waves were too violent to swim or sail against. Xie lumbers back to the lord.

The lord smiles, "Will you serve me? I am a fair lord and I will give you time off since there are so much people working for me. You can use that time to take a swing at the boulder if you want." The lord leans forward. "I can make it better where you are free to go if this boulder breaks."

Xie sighs, "I am yours."

Alice gestures her hands narrates the story. "In the first week, Xie threw himself at the boulder at every chance he gets. But when he saw no significant damage, he took a break and explored the town. He found out that the majority of the people are in the same situation as him. Their ships sunk and they washed ashore to this land. It seems the lord gave them the same deal as well but they gave up and decided to live here."

"But the scholar did not give up and continued to attack the boulder." Some parts of the scene changes. "And so months pass as Xie continues to swing his pickaxe."

Xie stops and leans on the boulder. "What in the world is this material?"

One of the villagers pass by. "Why won't you give up Xie? It's impossible to break that thing."

Xie shakes his head. "No. I can't give up. Not now." Xie resumes his attack.

The villager shrugs and walks away.

"Two years has passed and the scholar continues to swing, but everyone has a breaking point."

"AHHHHH!" Xie swings with all of his might. "WHY! WON'T! YOU! BREAK!" He swings with all of his might and the shaft of the pickaxe breaks. He slumps to the ground and stares at seemingly invulnerable boulder. "Wait..." Xie crawls forward and picks up a small piece of rock. He stands up and inspects the boulder; there was a small chip. "I wonder..." Xie drags the piece across the surface and his eyes widen as it leaves a mark. He brings it upward. "Unbelievable. It took months for the pickaxe to leave a mark like that and yet..." He tucks the piece and jogs back to the village.

The scene stays the same but there are several dolls and Shanghai back at the boulder.

The tallest person crosses his arms. "So why did you called us here Xie?"

Xie takes the piece out. "This is a piece of the boulder." Instantly people crowd around him as they look at the piece.

"How did you get that?"

"Did it really come from that blasted rock?"

"Is it really real?"

Xie backs up from them. "I broke it off, yes, and yes it is real. Listen, this piece left a mark on the boulder with little effort."

"Truly?"

"Look." Xie scratches the boulder and it leaves marks.

"Ohh." The crowd starts to get excited.

Xie waves his arms. "Wait wait! We can't tell anyone about this."

One of them tilts his head. "Why not?"

"If the lord finds out about this, do you think he will let it go?" Xie shakes his head. "No. He will take it and make us disappear. His guards are honor-bound to him after all."

A burly person looks at Xie. "So what do we do?"

Xie tucks the piece back into his robe. "We have to chip more of these pieces. If we get enough, we can make a tool." He looks at each of them. "We can take turns and we can strike at the same spot."

The group looks at each other and then finally back to Xie. The burly one steps forward. "So who's going first?"

"And so they carried out their plan." Shanghai and the dolls strike at the chipped area of the boulder. "Months pass before they gathered enough of the materials." The scene transitions to a house with a large furnace in the middle of the room.

Xie drops a bag in front of the blacksmith. "Can you make a pickaxe?"

"Did you break another one?" The blacksmith empties the bag onto the table and blinks at the pieces of rocks. He raises his eyebrow at Xie.

Xie wrings his hands. "Can you do it?"

He just shrugs and gets to work.

Alice weaves her fingers. "The next day passes and tool was completed." Shanghai and the dolls from before are standing in front of the boulder.

Xie gives the pickaxe to the biggest person. "If you will."

The person raises the pickaxe and swings it down.

_CRACK_

The group stares in disbelief at the sight; the tip was embed into the boulder.

"YE—"

"Shhh!" Xie waves his hands and the people go silent. They look around and nothing happens. He nods and the person swings at the boulder. As the person becomes tired, he will give it to the next person and the cycle continues until the boulder crumbles. As the dust clears, there is an entrance into the mountains. Xie turns to the person next to him. "Tell everyone." The person nods and takes off to the village.

After several moments everyone shows up at the area. Xie turns to the crowd. "The boulder is broken. We are free."

"YAY!" The crowd cheers at the proclamation.

"And what do you think you are doing?"

The villagers turn to see the lord and his entourage of guards. The lord points at them. "Seize them."

The guards stayed in position.

"Guards. Seize them. That is an order!"

"Why should they listen?" Xie walks to the front. "The boulder is broken and we are released from your service."

"No, no no no," The lord tries to run but the ex-guards captures the lord. Xie turns around and jogs into the entrance with a few villagers behind him. After several moments, they spot light at the end of the tunnel. Xie sprints and he had to close his eyes at the sudden brightness. He blinks as his eyes adjusts and smiles at the sight; lush forests fill the area and the waves calmly hit the sands. He looks farther and notes the waves are calmer than the other side. "I'll be home soon."

The image changes to the beach where most of the dolls are striking wooden planks with various tools. "Weeks pass as the people constructed a large ship for everyone." A large cutout of ship floats in the water and the dolls get in. "While rusty, the sailors picked the general direction of the closest city and set sail." The ship 'moves' through the waves. "The wind then pushed them to the right direction and they finally saw signs of a city." The image changes to a port city.

"What luck," Xie points at the city and turns to his friends. "I recognize that city. We're safe." The villagers grow excited at the news. Once they docked and met with the guards, Xie explained the situation. After hours of answering questions, the villagers were let go to do what they want. Xie picked a carriage and rides to his hometown. "Finally," Xie leans back and closes his eyes. "Home."

The image fizzles out and the audience blinks at the ending. Alice steps forward and has her dolls line up on both of her sides. "Thank you for viewing this play and I do hope you enjoy it." Alice and the dolls bow to the audience.

The crowd finally reacts as the children jump and cheer at the spectacle while the adults clap. Some of the children and even the adults walk forward to donate several coins for the performance. Shanghai floated with a flipped top hat and the donators deposited their coin. After the cheer quiets down, Alice raises her voice. "Now I will be taking a short break so be sure to enjoy the refreshments nearby." The crowd starts to disperse and make their way to the stalls. Alice walks behind the stage and sits on a chair.

"Gotta say that's an interesting trick you got ze."

Alice turns her head to see Marisa leaning on the stage with a snack on her hand. "Hello Marisa."

"Yo." Marisa walks to Alice's front. "So when did you think of adding magic with your plays?"

"I...I thought of the method recently." She waves her hand and the dolls start to change their costumes. "I do hope it was not too much."

"It was one of your best performances."

The blondes turn to spot Keine walking up to them. The teacher smiles at Alice. "Not only was it visually pleasing, it also taught many lessons for the children." She turns to the standing witch. "Hello Marisa. How have you been?"

"Yo." She takes a bite and gives a wave. "I'm doing alright. You?"

"Good as well. Other than that, any progress on the culprit?"

Marisa puffs out air. "Not much. It's been a week but we still haven't find anything yet." She puffs her chest. "But don't worry, we'll find it before you know it ze."

_'Oh right,'_ Alice brings one of the dolls over and smooths the dress out. _'The incident occurred relatively close to the village.'_

Keine smiles, "Thank you Marisa."

Marisa takes a glance over the stage. "Oh, seems like the crowd is going back to their seats. Gotta go before someone takes mine." She gives a two-finger salute. "See ya later ze."

Alice and Keine wave their hands at the retreating blonde. Alice stands up. "Well then, it is time for the second play." The dolls crowd around her and she takes—

"Ah wait." Keine has her hand outstretched. "What," Her eyes flicker to one of the dolls. "Is your next play?"

Alice smiles, "Oh it is just a small story of how a certain princess and doctor made a fake moon to replace the real one." She turns her head and pats one of the dolls; it is wearing a copy of Keine's clothes. "I believe the children should know some history of this world."

Keine's cheeks grow pink. "I, _*sigh*_ okay."

"Do not worry. I will not tell everything about that incident." Keine sighs in relief. "But I am sure the children will be curious and would like to know your involvement."

Keine puts her hands over her face. "This is so mortifying."

Alice keeps her smile as walks up the stage.

.

. . .

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. . . . .

. . .

.

_Later in the night..._

Alice raises her eyebrow at the light in her home. _'I wonder when did they arrive home?'_ She lands in front of the house with several dolls beside her; some of the dolls are holding bags from the food stalls. Alice walks to the door and was about to reach for it when the door seemingly opens itself.

"Hey Alice. We saw your note at the door." A shorter lady with two horns protruding horn her head grins at Alice. She has orange hair that reaches down to her back while there are chains attached to her wrists and hair; at the end of the chains there are a sphere, cube, and a pyramid attached to said chains.

"Welcome back Alice." A tiny person is standing on the lady's shoulder. She has lavender hair with a black bowl on her head and is wearing a pink kimono.

Alice smiles at them. "Suika. Sukuna. It is good to see you two again."

Suika walks over and picks up the two large cases. "So where have you been?"

"Thank you and I was at the village for my plays."

"Aww," Suika turns her head as she walks inside. "We missed it."

Sukuna fully turns around. "We came home an hour ago and spent most of the time unpacking."

Alice nods, "I see. If there is any consolation, I bought food from the village." The dolls with the bags float to the table.

"Ohhhh that smells delicious." Suika places the cases down and turns around. "I haven't food from there in a loong time."

Alice takes off the band that holds her ponytail. "What about my cooking?"

"Yours is the best but I like to try different food." Suika was quick on the reply as she walks to the kitchen. A moment later she comes back with plates, cups, and utensils.

Alice chuckles as the dolls open the bags and deposited the food on the plates. The blonde places her case down and accepts a towel from a doll. "Thank you." She and the other sit down and prepare to eat.

"Thanks Alice \ Thank you Alice."

"You are welcome." Alice takes a fork and stabs it into the dumpling. The rest follow suit and dinner is underway. Once she finishes chewing, she turns to her housemates. "How was your trip?"

Sukuna looks up. "It was enlightening. I finally was able to see my fellow Inchlings in the Underground."

"Also fun too," Suika cuts in. "You should have been there." She points at the Inchling. "One time she got so drunk she challenged an oni to a fist fight."

"He was so rude and you didn't help." Sukuna points back. "In fact, you goaded more people and it turned into a brawl."

"What can I say?" Suika leans back. "We onis love our brawls."

Alice leans her head on her palm as she smiles and listens to their tale.

* * *

**.**

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**.**

**And fin.**

**Well I did not expect to write another story in a story.**

**Now some things in regards to the chapter updates. I have summer session for school and these classes need me to do service learning. So that means not only I have lectures to listen to, I also have field work to do. Now for the next month or so, I will be very busy and the updates will be finicky.**

**That's that and so I'll see you readers the next time.**

**Thanks for reading**

**Constructive criticisms are appreciated **

**Bravo Tango out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey all! I'm back and let's get back into this. **

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

_'Blah' _— Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*_Blah_* — Sound effects in speech

(**_Blah_**) — Author's notes

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of** **Touhou Project; they belong to Jun'ya Ota aka ZUN. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**

* * *

_Knock Knock_

_"Reimu?" Alice adjusts her grimoire as she waits at the door. Several seconds go by and there is no shrine maiden. The blonde raises her voice. "Reimu?" Still no answer. She raises her free hand on—_

_"Back here Alice!"_

_The magician turns her head to the right. "Oh?" She drops her arm and walks to the side. The blonde then turns left and walks into Reimu's backyard. Alice tilts her head to see the maiden kneeling in the garden. "There you are."_

_Reimu turns her head and smiles, "Hey Alice."_

_Alice smiles in return as she walks toward the miko. As she gets closer, the blonde notes dirt marks on Reimu's cheeks. She sighs as she takes out a handkerchief and wipes the brunette's cheeks. "Try to clean up. Your face is a mess."_

_After the dirt was wiped off, Reimu beams at Alice. "Thanks."_

_Alice looks at the flowers beside them. "How long have you been tending the plants?"_

_Reimu looks up and squints at the sun. "I think...two hours."_

_Alice shakes her head. "That is too long. Just give them enough water and they should be fine."_

_Reimu stands up and pats her skirt before she looks at Alice. "You gotta give them lots of love." She then points at the sakura tree. "And they'll give you this in return."_

_"Hmm," Alice stares as the cherry blossom petals sway from the breeze. "I'm quite jealous that you love this tree more than me."_

_"Oh please," Reimu leans in and pecks Alice's lips. "As if a tree can compete against you. Anyway," She bends down to pick up the pruner. "Did you get a letter back from her?"_

_Alice sighs, "I can't believe how you convinced me to write to her."_

_"It's not all that bad right?" Reimu and Alice walk into the house. "She's your family."_

_Alice stares at Reimu. "...She sent me an entire bag of letters to my house. That bag came three days ago and I'm still not done reading it."_

_Reimu throws her head back and laughs. She then stops and looks back at Alice. "You two haven't talk in years. What did you expect?"_

_The blonde rolls her eyes. She bends down but she feels something on her should—_

"Hey."

.

. .

. . .

. .

.

"Hey."

Alice inhales through her nose and rapidly blinks her eyelids as she feels something swaying her shoulder. She turns around to see Suika with Sukuna on the oni's shoulder. "...Yes?"

Suika glances at the Inchling before looking back at the blonde. "You kinda feel asleep on us."

Alice narrows her eyes. _'The dreams are becoming more frequent.'_ She looks at the table to see an envelope. _'At least I finished the letter.'_

"You doing alright?"

The blonde looks back at them and smiles, "Yes. It is just a small nap. Nothing to worry about."

Suika raises her eyebrow.

Sukuna leans forward. "Are you finished with the letters Alice?"

"Yes. I am planning to give them to Yumeko."

"You know..." Suika looks around the room. "You should take a break."

Alice briefly smiles, "I appreciate the gesture but I am not tired." Suika stays silent but tilts her head. Alice takes a moment and follows the oni's direction. Countless papers are strewn about in the room and ingredients are haphazardly placed across the floor; the room was truly a mess.

Suika places her hand on Alice's shoulder. "How about this? Me and Sukuna can drop these letters off and you can take it easy today. Walk around and enjoy the scenery or something. And besides," The oni points a thumb at her own chest. "I've always wanted to see what Makai is like." She turns to the Inchling. "How about you?"

"Oh," Sukuna readjusts her footing. "Well, I guess I'm interested to visit there too."

"We'll make a traveler out of you." Suika turns back to Alice. "So come on, let's take a day off." She gestures to the mess. "You have time to finish this later."

Alice slowly looks around the room one more time. _'I must be exhausted to not notice this.'_ She sighs and stands up, "I suppose you are right."

"I'm always right." Suika grins as she places her hands on her hips. "Alright. So where will you be going?"

Sukuna pokes Suika's cheek. "Give her time. You just sprung this on Alice."

Suika shrugs, shaking the small youkai's balance.

Alice taps her chin. "I think that Rinnosuke has new additions in his store. I could drop by and see what he has."

Suika steps back. "And after?"

The witch shrugs, "I suppose wherever the road takes me." She leans over the table and seals the envelope. She picks it up and hands it to the oni. "Here. Yumeko should be able to recognize the seal and give you two a tour if you want."

Suika accepts the envelope. "Nice."

"Oh!" Alice reaches into her dress pocket and pulls out a hexagonal crest with a Rubin vase at the center. She offers it to Suika. "Be sure to show this to Yumeko as well otherwise she might take drastic action."

The oni accepts it and brings the crest up to her eye. "Neat." She then gives it to the Inchling. "You said she was a maid right? Is she strong?"

Alice pulls down her sleeves and adjusts her ponytail. "Please do not cause international incidents."

Suika shrugs and grins, "I'll only fight in self-defense."

Sukuna holds the crest with both hands and looks at Alice. "What's a good time to come back?"

Alice looks at the clock. "Does six sound good?"

They look at each other and then nodded. The Inchling turns back to the witch. "That sounds good. Also you can't come back here until then."

Alice chuckles, "To think I would be barred from my own house." She snaps her fingers and multiple dolls float to her. The blonde bends down to collect the paper as her dolls clean the room. "In any case, I am sure the both of you will enjoy your time there."

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. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

.

Alice and her duo dolls make their way to a general one-story building as they exit the forest. _'I wonder if those came through...'_ The blonde glances up to look at the store logo: _Kourindou_

She enters through the open door and is immediately greeted by a male voice to her right. "Welcome Alice."

Alice turns to the side to see a white-haired male with glasses. "Hello Rinnosuke."

He pushes up his glasses. "Anything that catches your eyes?"

The blonde walks closer to the store owner. "I was wondering if you have any articles."

Rinnosuke blinks, "Oh. You're in luck today. Some magazines came through this morning. Let me get it from the storage." He turns his read and raises his voice. "Tokiko. Can you come to the front? It's just Alice here."

"Coming!" A few seconds later and a petite girl appears from the side door. She has white hair with blue highlights and she has two red wings behind her back. She smiles at the blonde. "Hi Miss Alice."

Alice nods her head as her dolls perform a curtsy. "Good afternoon Tokiko."

The owner starts walking to the back. "I'm going to get the magazines. Take a look around if anything else interests you." He disappears into the door.

Alice walks through the aisle as she looks at various things that have slipped into Gensokyo. She then stops when she notices a rectangular object that has a reflective surface. The blonde picks it up in her hands. _'Hmm. What kind of material is this?'_ She looks to the bottom to see a square drawn inside a circle. _'What does this do?'_ She presses the circle and it sinks into the object.

.

.

.

_'Hm,'_ Alice stares at her reflection as nothing happens. _'What an odd contraption.'_

Footsteps thump from the back door and Rinnosuke appears. "Here they are," He walks to the store front and places them down the table. Alice puts the object back and walks toward them. "Sorry that these weren't out in the front."

"It is quite fine." Alice browses through the magazines. After several moments, Alice places a smaller stack near the original position. "I would like to purchase these magazines."

The white-haired man blinks at Alice. "That was awfully fast."

Alice opens her mouth. "I—"

"Hello?"

As Alice turns to the front door, she catches Tokiko jump to the side door. When she fully turns around, she notes the purple-haired rabbit youkai. "Reisen."

Reisen tilts her head. "Hello Miss Alice."

Rinnosuke's voice calls out. "It's clear." Alice turns back to see the winged youkai stand next to the store owner. "So what brings you here Reisen?"

The rabbit youkai stops next to Alice. "The princess wanted to see if there was anything interesting." She looks down at the magazines. "Oh. Apologies for interrupting you two."

Alice waves her off. "It is quite fine. We were about finish the transaction." The blonde takes a few coins from her purse and places them on the desk. "You can keep the change."

Rinnosuke stares for a while before he shrugs and collects the payment. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"I as well." Alice wraps strands her string around the magazine and Hourai lifts up the magazine by said string. The blonde makes her way to the entrance. "Have a good day everyone."

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. . .

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. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

.

_Some area..._

Alice and her dolls travel on a dirt path. _'So much time before six.'_ She turns her head to Shanghai. "Do you know anywhere to go Shanghai?"

The doll shrugs its shoulder. "Shanghai?"

"Mn," Alice turns to the other doll. "Hourai?"

The puppet blinks once before it shakes its head.

"Right." Alice pulls her sleeves as she continues to walk with her dolls by her side. After several minutes, Alice stops and stares at a lone tree atop a grassy hill. _'It's...'_ The blonde makes her way up the hill and stands next to the tree. She places her hand on the bark and look up to see pink petals. _'...a cherry blossom tree.'_ Alice slides down and closes her eyes as she leans her head against the tree. _'Reimu...'_

_Flashes of red and white as Reimu cleans her shrine._

_Flying side by side, solving incidents left and right._

_A fiery hot—_

"Well this is a surprise."

Alice jerks at the sound. _'That voice.'_ She opens her eyes and stands up to look down at the tall newcomer. "Yuuka."

Yuuka has red eyes and green hair that reaches to her shoulders. She has a white blouse and a plaid red vest with transparent black stripes as the second layer. Wrapped around her neck is a yellow ribbon. On her waist is a skirt that has the same design as her vest and the length reaches down to the middle of her calves. On her right hand is a pink parasol.

Alice shifts her sight left and right before they settle back on Yuuka. "Is Medicine with you?"

Yuuka shrugs, "She's off playing with that Lunar doctor. But enough of that, what are you doing to that poor tree?"

The blonde raises her eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Yuuka points to the tree. "She called for me when you've been on her for almost an hour."

Alice's eyes briefly widen before she schools her expression. _'An hour!? It did not felt like an hour.'_

Yuuka continues on. "...While she really enjoys your company, you've been giving off a weird vibe."

"...Is that so?" Alice places her hand on the tree. "I apologize for my behavior. I have been caught up in fond memories."

"Getting lost in your dreams Alice?" The blonde turns back to see Yuuka twirling her parasol with a smirk on her face. "You're losing your touch if you let someone like me sneak up on you."

_'Caring as always.'_ Alice pats the front of her skirt.

"Anyway what are you doing here? Haven't seen you in these parts in some time."

"No particular reason. I just wanted to take some away from my house."

Yuuka starts to walk up the small hill. "Really now?"

The wind blows through the area and a lock of blonde hair obscures her vision. Alice tucks it behind her ear but she pauses at the sight before her; she can see countless flowers that color the filed with bright and vibrant colors. "Oh my."

"Hmm?" Yuuka turns around. "Oh yes, this season might be the best one yet."

Alice feels her shoulders relax as the flowers sway in the direction of the breeze. _'This is nice.'_ The magician sits down and waves Hourai over; she picks up the pile of articles and unravels her wires.

"Seriously? You must be really bored if you're going to stay here in the middle of nowhere."

"Why not?" Alice picks and opens an article. "The weather is nice and the scenery is simply stunning." She starts to read after that statement. After a few moments of reading, the blonde hears a sigh and footsteps walking to the other side.

Yuuka sits down with her parasol folded and placed beside her. "So what are you reading?"

Alice shows the cover. "Gardening advice from the Outside World."

Yuuka rolls her eyes. "As if humans can take care of plants."

"I think you are the only one who can have direct communication with plants. And besides," Alice waves her glowing hand over the article before she offers it to the youkai. "You would be surprised at the passion of these humans. Also, you can correct their methods. Is it not more beneficial for you if people take care and love the plants?"

Yuuka scoffs but she takes the magazine and her eyes track over the page. "...Not bad for a bunch of humans."

Alice chuckles as she picks up another article and starts reading. The next several moments were in silence as neither of them said anything. Just as she flipped a page, Alice hears Yuuka mumbling and she had to strain her ears. After Yuuka finished, Alice turns to the green-haired youkai. "It's good to see you too."

"Tch." Yuuka turns to the side and brings the magazine closer to her face.

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_Village_

_Hours later..._

_'Oh?'_ Alice stops as people start to crowd the village center. She adjusts her grocery bag and stops one of the villagers. "Excuse me but what is the commotion?"

The villager's eyes flicker to the dolls and he hesitates but he focuses back on the puppeteer. "U-Um there is a debate between the leaders of the Taoist and Buddhist Sect."

_'Ah those two.'_ She looks at the villager. "Thank you." He nods and jogs off to the center. _'Anyway, I should get back before Suika and Sukuna to make dinner.'_ Alice walks forward to her house. Just as she turns a corner, she bumps into someone.

"Oh."

"Ah!"

Alice staggers backwards as her bag drops to the floor. She quickly recovers and she stares at the other person on the ground. _'The Hakurei miko.'_

The shrine maiden scrambles up and starts collecting the produce. "I'm so sorry about bumping into you. I wasn't looking and—"

"It is fine." Alice bends down and starts collecting the rest. "It was an accident and no one is at fault."

The miko tenses but she continues to help. "Ah, Miss Alice."

With everything in the bag, the both of them stand up. Alice nods at the smaller girl. "How are you today Kaida?"

Kaida plays with her gohei. "I am fine."

Alice tilts her head toward the village center. "Are you here for the debate?"

"Sort of. I'm just here to make sure there's no trouble."

"I see." They lapse into a bout of silence. Alice shifts her bag. "How goes your investigation with the decayed field incident?"

"Oh that?" Kaida places her gohei at her side. "Lady Yakumo was not forthcoming and there were no leads to follow. With nothing, we decided to stop looking."

"...I see." Alice checks her pocket watch. "In any case, I wish you luck in that you do not have to do much for this debate."

Kaida bows her head. "Have a good day Miss Alice."

Alice nods he head. "You as well." Alice continues on her way. After a while, she is nearing the edge of the village and—

"We're going to be late."

"Shh. We have time."

Alice raises her eyebrow. _'Is that...?'_ Alice stalks to a wall of the building and peek into the alley. _'Oh my.'_ Toyosatomimi no Miko, leader of the Taoist sect, is straddling Hijiri Byakuren, leader of the Buddist sect.

Hijiri pouts, "Couldn't you have just waited until after the debate?"

"I'm sorry," Miko cups Hijiri's chin. "But I can't wait." She leans down as she—

_'Well,'_ Alice turns and moves away. _'That is enough excitement for today.'_

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. . .

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. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

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_Home..._

Alice swirls her ladle in the pot as the fire licks the bottom of said pot. After several more swirls, she lifts it up and pour the contents into a small bowl. She takes a sip. _'Mn. Needs more salt.'_ She twitches her index finger and a doll floats to her side. "Thank you." She grabs the container and sprinkles the salt into the stew. She gives the container back to the doll when the door opens.

"Yo Alice we're back."

"Welcome home you two." The blonde gives the ladle to another doll and walks to the living room. "How was your impromptu trip?"

"It was great." Suika walks in with a large bag over her shoulder while Sukuna floats nearby.

Sukuna starts to gesture with her hands. "Your native home was amazing Alice! There were so many new things and I saw the tallest building."

"Ah you must be referring to the Pandæmonium."

Suika places the bag on the ground. "Here Alice. I gotta say, it's still crazy how much your mom writes."

"Thank you." Alice opens the bag to find numerous envelopes inside.

"Also she asked if you'll come back to visit."

Alice hesitates before she closes the bag. "I will try to make some time." A doll floats over to Alice with a small bowl. The blonde takes a sip. "Ah. Perfect." She turns to two. "Dinner is ready."

* * *

**.**

**.**

**And le fin for now.**

**Food sounds nice.**

**Phew it feels weird to write again but here I am. I got much to show and I can't wait to show it you all in the next chapter.  
**

**Thanks for reading**

**Constructive criticisms are appreciated**

**Bravo Tango out.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Whooo! Let's do this! We're going to jump right into it. **

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

_'Blah' _— Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*_Blah_* — Sound effects in speech

(**_Blah_**) — Author's notes

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of** **Touhou Project; they belong to Jun'ya Ota aka ZUN. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**

* * *

_"Do you have to go right now?"_

_"Please Reimu," Alice holds up a weathered book. "I could be one step closer to finish my project. I'll finish as soon as possible."_

_The red and white miko scratches the back of her head. "*Sigh* I guess we can push it later. You're lucky I'm in a good mood since last night's dinner was delicious." She then raises her index finger. "But you owe me one ya hear?"_

_Alice takes a step toward the shrine maiden and smiles, "Thank you Reimu."_

_Reimu points at the general direction of Alice's house. "Now go do your research or whatever. I'll wait here until you're done."_

_"You don't have to wait for me. I could meet you at the village."_

_"Nope," Reimu grins, "That defeats the purpose of having a date together."_

_"But—"_

_"Aup!" Reimu raises her palm. "The more time we talk the less time you have with that book." She makes a shooing motion. "Now go read that thing."_

_Alice smiles, "Thank you." Alice tilts down and gives a soft kiss on Reimu's lips. "I'll make sure to come back as soon as possible."_

_"Yeah yeah," Reimu smiles and lightly pushes Alice. "Now go."_

_Alice starts to float away and fly off toward her house._

_._

_. ._

_._

_Alice leans back from the book. 'Interesting.' The puppeteer stands up to walk over to Shanghai and Hourai. 'From what I gathered from the book...' She flicks her finger and the dolls float upward. 'I would need parts of two different beings and certain conditions to be met.' The blonde brings them closer to her face. 'But what—'_

_BOOM_

_Alice almost lost her balance as the ground suddenly shakes beneath her feet. Alice regains her balance. 'What was that?' She walks to the front of her house with her dolls trailing behind her. The witch opens the door and steps outside. She takes a looks around and—_

_GASP_

_The dolls falter for moment before they regain their flight. Alice stares at the sight in front of her. "No... This must be an illusion... Right Reimu?"_

_A large cloud of black smoke trails upwards from the direction of the Hakurei Shrine._

_Alice staggers toward the direction of the smoke. "Reimu?" Alice jumps but she tumbles to the ground. Her knees start to shake as he pushes herself to stand on her feet. "REimu!?" Alice jumps again and she shoots through the sky. "REI—_

_GASP_

_PANT PANT_

Alice stares at her ceiling as her hands reached for it. She heaves the air out of her lungs _as there are smoke and ash everywhere and the fire is melting the stone and wherewherewhere—_

Alice clenches her mouth as she covers her face. _'Calm down.'_ She takes deep breathes as she waits for her heart rate to slow down. After several moments, the blonde pulls her hands off her face; her fingers are wet. Alice sighs and wipes the tears from her eyes. She stands up and plods to her calendar to note a red circle around today's date. _'Hm.'_ She turns around and looks up at the clock. _5:00_

_'Early but I do not think I can go back to sleep.'_ Alice looks down at the table next to her side and spots the stitched ribbon. She picks it and places it on her forehead. _'Reimu...'_ The blonde stays in places for several moments. The puppeteer slowly places the ribbon back on the table and walks to the bathroom. _'Might as well start the preparations.'_

_._

_. ._

_Three hours later..._

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_._

Alice finished wrapping a ribbon around her snack bag when Suika shuffles into the kitchen with Sukuna on her shoulder. "Good morning you two."

"Morning. / Good morning."

The blonde then chuckles at the state of their hair; it was a mess. She snaps her fingers and several dolls with hairbrushes float to the duo youkais. They start to comb and straighten the hair. "Did you two got out of bed right away?"

"Yeah." Suika points to the table. "We smelled something delicious and we couldn't wait to eat." Once the dolls finish, Suika pats a doll's head while Sukuna shakes another doll's hand. "Thanks." The two-horned oni looks at the kitchen counter and then at the suitcases that are placed near the front door. "You going today?"

Alice nods as she places the snack bags into a bigger bag. "Yes. I will be visiting the Scarlet Mansion."

Suika tenses before she relaxes her shoulders and grins, "You're going there again? You should hang out with us."

"Unfortunately I have an appointment there."

Sukuna readjusts her stance. "Will we see you soon?"

Alice smiles, "I will see you two again. But enough of that." The blonde gestures to the table. "The food is going to get cold. Let us enjoy while it is hot." All three of them sit down and start to eat breakfast.

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_Forest area..._

Alice floats through the air with several dolls holding her suitcases behind her. She had just crossed a clearing when she spotted a group of figures on the ground. _'Ah perfect.'_ The blonde changes directions and floats toward them. As she gets closer, Alice notes there are five girls where three of them have wings. _'All of them are here.'_

"Hey it's Alice."

Alice lands on the ground in front of them. "Hello everyone." They all respond back with greetings. She takes a moment to take a look at all of them. The first girl has blue eyes and short blue hair with a blue ribbon on the top of her head. She has a white shirt, a blue vest over it, and a blue skirt that reaches to her knees. On her back there are three pairs of diamond-shaped ice blocks.

The one next to her has green eyes and hair with a yellow ribbon tied tying said hair into a side-ponytail. She has a white blouse with a blue dress that reaches to the middle of thigh and it has white frills at the edge. On her back there is a pair of slender oval wings but there are not feathers attached to them. There is some kind of yellow membrane in top of her wings.

The one beside the blue girl has red eyes and short yellow hair with a red ribbon tied to the side of her head. She has a white collared long-sleeve and a red tie wrapped around her neck. She then has a black vest and a skirt that reaches to her knees.

One behind them has a darker shade of green eyes and short hair. She also has two insectoid antennas on the top of her head. She has a white buttoned-up long-sleeve with a short black cape tied around her neck. To finish her look, she has black trousers that are rolled up to the middle of her shins.

The last girl has short pink-red hair with a brown cap on her head. She has a white wide-sleeved shirt with a brown dress on top of it. On her back there is a pair of white feathered wings.

Alice smiles, "How are all of you today?"

The green girl with wings answers first. "We're going great Miss Alice."

The puppeteer nods her head. "That is good to hear Daiyousei."

"But we're so bored!" The blue one interjects.

The pink one turns to the blue one. "You always get bored Cirno."

"Well it's because the strong always need excitement Mystia." Cirno throws back.

The blonde girl joins in. "I think having meat can be exciting."

Cirno rolls her eyes. "You think of food all day Rumia."

Rumia twirls on her foot with her hands outstretched. "~Is that so~"

"In any case," The girls turn toward to Alice. "Have you kept your promise Cirno?"

Cirno grins and points a thumb at her chest. "You betcha I did. No frozen frogs."

The caped girl raises her hand. "Can confirm."

"Wha-" Cirno turns around. "Have you been spying on me Wriggle?"

"No," Wriggle holds her palm out and an insect lands on it. "These guys told me that they didn't see you freezing any frogs. Though they did see you near the lake from time to time."

_'Best keep them distracted before Cirno starts a fight.'_ Alice smiles as she crouches down in front of Cirno. "Thank you for keeping your promise. You are very strong indeed."

"Pssh." Cirno waves her off but she struggles to fight off her smile. "It was easy peasy."

Alice takes out a treat bag and offers it to the blue-haired girl. "Well here is your reward Cirno."

Cirno stops her struggle and smiles full force. "Thank Alice." She accepts the bag and opens it.

"Well since everyone is here," Alice looks at the other girls. "I suppose I can give you your shares here." Alice pulls out 4 smaller treat bags and gives them out. Each girl thanked her in return. She looks around. "Is Chen with you?"

Daiyousei provides an answer. "She is helping out with her master."

"I see. Is anyone willing to hold her portion then?"

Cirno raises her hand. "I will I will."

"Here you go." Alice takes out a bag and hands it to Cirno. She then checks her watch. "I apologize but I must be going now." The magician waves at the groups before floating off.

"Ah wait!"

Alice stops and turns, "Yes?"

Cirno is in front of the group. "Are you going to the mansion?"

"Yes."

Cirno wriggles her toes on the ground. "Can we come with you?"

"For what reason?"

The blue-haired girl tries to stop fidgeting. "We want to see Flanny."

"Cirno!" Daiyousei protests, "You're asking too much from Miss Alice."

"I know Dai. But we haven't played with her in a long time."

_'I see.'_ Alice taps her chin. "The farthest I can take you is at the gate."

"That's fine."

"I can try to ask Flandre but I cannot make any promises."

"That's fine too."

"...Come along then." Alice starts to float as the girls cheer and follow the puppeteer.

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_Scarlet Mansion Gate..._

Alice spots several people at the front as her group lands on the ground. The tallest woman at the gate has long red hair and a green beret. She is wearing a collared white shirt that is covered up by a green vest. For the bottom half she is wearing white pants that are covered by a lower-half green qipao with two large slits at the hips.

Alice looks up to see several fairy maid guards at the top of the wall. Alice looks back at woman and waves her hand. "Good morning Meiling."

Meiling smiles and waves back. "Morning Alice. Here for your appointment?" The red-headed guard leans to the side to look at the rest of her company. "And what are you rascals doing here? You up for another battle?"

Cirno perks up but she shakes her head. "We want to see Flanny."

Meiling shakes her head. "Sorry girls. But you need—"

Alice raises her hand. "Please. Allow me to talk to her."

The main guard hesitates for a moment. She then looks up. "Mya. Go inform Sakuya that Alice is here." She tilts her head. "Liri. Escort Alice to the mansion."

"Yes Sifu." One maid flew to the mansion while the other one floats down next to Meiling.

Meiling waves the group over. "Let's play a game while we wait."

Alice, her dolls, and her party walk over to the gate. The taller blonde nods to them as she passes the gate with Liri. "I will see you girls next time."

"Thanks Alice."

"Thank you Miss Alice."

"See you again Alice."

"Thanks for the treat."

"~Bye bye~"

Alice and Liri make their way to the front door. Alice takes her time to look around the courtyard; there are various fairy maids watering or trimming the garden.

_Creak_

Alice turns her head to see the massive doors opened with Sakuya and Dao at the front. Sakuya has short silver hair with braids at each side of her face and a maid headdress on the top of her head. Her maid uniform consists of a black long-sleeve turtle-neck shirt that is covered by dress. The dress itself is white at the top and dark blue at the frilled bottom. To finish it off she has a white apron that covers the lower front of her dress.

Sakuya looks at the fairy guards. "Thank you both Liri and Dao. I'll take it from here."

The guards bow their heads. "Of course Ma'am." They float back to the gate.

Sakuya bows her head. "Welcome Alice." She gestures to the inside of the mansion. "Please come in."

Alice nods her head as she and her dolls make their way to the entrance. As she gets closer, the blonde briefly spots faint wrinkles on Sakuya's forehead and a pink mark that is peeking out the right side of the maid's turtleneck. Once inside, Sakuya closes the door and they both walk down the hallway. "How is your day Sakuya? Did anything happen here?"

Sakuya turns her head as they walk. "I'm doing fine thank you for asking. Recently we employed a new group of fairies."

_'So more slipped through.'_ Alice watches as several fairies clean the hall. Before Alice can ask any more questions, she spots a familiar figure standing with several maids.

The figure turns and notices the magician. She smiles, "Alice!" She jogs her way to them.

Alice smiles, "Hello Flandre. It is good to see you." Flandre has red eyes and short blonde hair with a white mob cap on top of her head. She has a white shirt with a red vest on top and a red skirt that reaches past her knees. On her back she has a pair of wings where there are solid crystals hanging from them; each crystal is filled with each colors of the rainbow.

"Ah!" Flandre stops in front of them and pats her skirt. She then picks the edge of said skirt and shakily performs a curtsy. "Good morning Alice."

Alice chuckles and mimics her movement. "Good morning Flandre."

The shorter blonde clasps her hands. "What are you doing here Alice?"

"I have an appointment with Patchouli, but other than that," Alice waves a doll over and takes out a bag of sweets. "I have a present for you." She offers it to Flandre.

"Thank you Alice!" She accepts and jumps into Alice to hug her.

Alice chuckles and returns the hug. "You are welcome. Oh by the way," The taller blonde eases Flandre away and arm's length. "Several of your friends are waiting for you at the front."

"...Really!?" Flandre smiles and was about to run but she stops herself. "Ah," Flandre turns to look back. "But my sister told me to do my duties."

Alice was ready to reassure the shorter girl. "Do not worry about that. I will talk to Remilia about it."

"You should listen to the witch my lady." They turn to see a fairy that was bigger than the fairies but still smaller than Alice. "You did most of your work so you can let us take care of the newbies." She puts her fist on her hip. "So enjoy yourself my lady."

"Mia..." Flandre smiles, "Thank you."

"No problem." Mia turns to the other maids. "Alright let's go break in the new girls." The group leaves the three girls alone.

Alice turns the smaller blonde. "Flandre?"

Flandre turns back. "Yes Alice?"

"May I ask a favor?"

"Sure."

The witch smiles at the petite girl. "Would you and your friends play away from the library? Patchouli and I are doing a special project and we want to make sure it goes well."

Flandre beams at Alice. "Okay." She waves at them as she jogs to the front. "See ya Alice. See ya Sakuya."

Alice waves back while Sakuya bows her head. After a few moments, they resume their walk to the library. The head maid slightly turns her head to glance at the puppeteer. "That was quite forward of you Alice."

"I made sure that Flandre would not interrupt our process and she is allowed to play with her friends." She shrugs, "It is beneficial for both parties involved. And besides," Alice caresses the stitched ribbon that is tied to her waist. "I believe you should enjoy your time with the people you cherish."

Sakuya looks forward as they walk in silence.

_'Goodness me. I am getting sentimental.'_

Before Alice opens her mouth, Sakuya speaks first. "...I apologize for my impertinence."

Alice waves her off. "Nonsense. You are not at fault here. It was me who brought it up."

Sakuya nods her head as they approach the library doors. The maid opens the doors and the both of them walk in. "Miss Patchouli? Alice is here for the appointment."

"Ah good. We're over here Sakuya. Bring out guest over."

"Mistress?" Sakuya looks to Alice and her dolls just shrug. They then walk farther into the library to meet two occupants of differing heights sitting at a table and a figure standing to the side. At the table, one of them is reading a book while the other one is sipping tea from an elegant cup.

The figure on her feet has long red hair, eyes, and a small pair of black bat wings near the top of her ears. She is wearing a white collared long-sleeved shirt and a red tie. She also has a black vest, skirt, and leggings. On her back is a pair of large bat wings that flicker from time to time.

The smaller figure has short blue hair, red eyes, and a light-pink mob cap on her head. She also has a light-pink dress with a red ribbon tied at the waist.

The last figure has purple eyes, long hair, and a night-cap with a golden crescent moon pin on top of her head. She has a white and purple stripped dress with a light-pink robe and a white capelet; those clothes look more like for sleepwear than for daily use.

The smaller one puts her cup down and looks at Alice. "There you are. What took you so long?"

"She was only late for a few minutes Remilia." The one with the nightcap continues to read, though her eyes flicker and linger at the blonde. "Good morning Alice."

_'Patchouli is curious as well.'_ Alice stops at the table and then nods her head. "Good morning to you all. I apologize for my tardiness as I was talking with Flandre."

"Oh?" Remilia leans on one hand. "What did you and my dear little sister talk about?"

"I told her that she can play with her friends."

"Ohhh?" Remilia drags out her question as she places down her teacup and leans both of arms on the table. "And why would you do something like that?"

Alice stares at Remilia. "Because she should have more fun with her friends."

Remilia raises one eyebrow as she looks up and down at Alice. After a while she grins, "How interesting. Alright. I'll let this one pass."

Patchouli turns her full attention to the puppeteer. "So I assume it worked then."

Alice nods at Patchouli.

"Right," Patchouli puts down her book and turns to the red-haired demon. "Koakuma, bring my instruments."

Koakums jumps but she bows her head. "Y-Yes Master." She floats away.

"What should I do Patche?" Remilia picks up her cup but she stops herself as it was empty. She turns to Sakuya and raises her cup. The head maid bows her head and the cup is refilled. "Thanks Sakuya."

"Of course Mistress."

"Just stay there since you don't have to do much."

"Awww."

Patchouli ignores the petite youkai and returns to Alice. "Do you have what you need?"

Alice snaps her fingers for a doll to float near her head and she takes out her journal. "I have what I need."

The purple-haired woman gestures to the large clearing in the massive library. "You have the floor."

Alice claps her hands and multiple dolls appear at her side with chalk. "Let us begin."

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It took hours as Alice drew a patterned circle as she made some adjustments with Patchouli about some of the details. _'Finally,'_ The blonde wipes her forehead as steps back and turns to the group. "It is finished."

Patchouli looks at the circle one last time before she turns to Alice. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

The other magician turns to Remilia and Sakuya. "We'll going to start now."

As the duo moves into position, Alice snaps her fingers for Shanghai and Hourai to float over to Koakuma. "Take care of them for me."

The dolls settle into the demon's arms and Koakuma nods her head. "Oh course Miss Alice."

Alice nods back and she makes her way to the center of the circle. She takes a deep breath as power start to surge inside her body. At the corner of her eye the blonde notes that Sakuya has her pocket-watch out and in her hand. Alice can feel magic rising in her body and when she reaches the top she—

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Alice blinks as she feels a breeze brushing up her face. She looks up to see the moon high in the sky. She then looks down to find two familiar mummified bodies on the ground. "Hm," She looks around and she can see the perimeter of withered plants. "Ten meters. Progress, but it needs some modifications." The witch flattens the dirt beneath her and starts to float away, leaving the bodies behind.

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**And Fin.**

**Oh no! Alice what are you doing? **

**Ahh I feel a huge burden off my shoulders since I don't have to tip toe around the story anymore. Now I can write to my fullest degree.**

**So I got a little challenge for you all; look for clues of Alice.**

**Not much else so I'll see you lovely people in the next chapter.**

**Thanks for reading**

**Constructive criticisms are appreciated**

**Bravo Tango out.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcome back you all. Let's go see what Alice plans to do. **

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

_'Blah' _— Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*_Blah_* — Sound effects in speech

(**_Blah_**) — Author's notes

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of** **Touhou Project; they belong to Jun'ya Ota aka ZUN. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**

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_Tap_

_Scribble_

_'Hmm,'_ Alice continues to write key notes in her journal. _'The modified spell took me back to the same date but it took less power. At the very least, it made it more efficient.'_ The blonde places her quill into the ink pot and leans back. _'I would have to go to Eirin to discuss further details.'_ She stands up and stretches, _'Should I go to Eientei at an earlier date?'_ Alice shakes her head. _'No. I should keep the events relatively consistent so there are no confounding variables.'_ She looks up. _'Oh. She should be—'_

_Knock Knock_

"Oi Alice. You awake yet?"

_'There she is.'_ Alice smiles as she leans out of the doorway. "I will be down there in a moment Marisa." She mimics her previous actions and then makes her way down the stairs. The puppeteer opens the door and tilts her head upward. "Hello Marisa."

The other witch waves her hand. "Yo."

Alice turns her body and waves her hand. "Do you want to come in and have tea?"

The human witch grins as she shakes her head. "Not this time. We got a little incident and I was wondering if you want to come with us to solve it ze."

_'I should go with her to make sure events are not changed too much.'_ The puppeteer presses her lips. "I am visiting _her_ today."

Marisa's eyes flicker to Alice waists and she scratches her nape. "Oh, uh, my bad ze."

Alice sighs as she steps outside. "I can accompany and help you but I will leave on my own time."

Marisa smiles, "Nice." She hops on her broom and takes off. "Let's go ze."

Alice turns her head. "Shanghai. Hourai. With me." She closes the door and floats away from her home.

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Alice comes back to the dead clearing to see Sanae and Kaida crouching next to the bodies. The witches land and Marisa gave them a wave. "Yo. So what do we got?"

Kaida stands up. "Hello Marisa-senpai. Sanae-senpai and I were waiting on you." The miko glances over to the puppeteer. "A-Ah Miss Alice. I didn't expect to see you here." She then gives a small wave as an afterthought.

Marisa gives a small wave of her hand. "Don't worry about that. I invited her."

Alice glances at Marisa before she looks back to the two mikos. _'Hm.'_ "I will only be here for a short moment."

Sanae leans to the side to look at Alice. "Still appreciate your help."

The puppeteer nods at the green-haired miko. "Happy to help."

"Well then." Marisa looks at the mikos and points at the bodies. "You two wanna take a look at the bodies?"

"Sure."

"Okay."

Marisa turns to Alice. "You wanna look around together? Not much ground to cover."

Alice nods her head and gestures with her hand. "Lead the way." As the puppeteer trails behind the human witch, her mind is elsewhere. _'Interesting. Small difference but I do not think it will have drastic changes.'_ They reached the edge and Marisa crouches down to inspect the dead soil while Alice looks around. _'Hm. It is regrettable to use the plants and any unfortunate soul's life-force.'_ Her sight stops at a blooming tree nearby. _'I hope I will not have to use more than necessary if I have to go further back in time.'_

"...ey. Hey Alice."

The blond snaps out of her thoughts and looks down at Marisa. "Yes?"

Marisa stares at Alice. "...You don't have to be here ze."

_'Focus.'_ "Nonsense. I was just surprised by all of this." Alice sweeps her hand to the decayed plants. "This situations is quite unique to me. By the way, did you find anything? I do not sense any negative energy or curses."

"Hm." Marisa picks up a withered plant and it crumbles into dust. "Same as you." She pats her hand on her apron. "It's almost like something sapped the life away from the area." Marisa puts her hand on her chin. "A new youkai maybe?"

"In any case." Alice tilts her head to the mikos. "We should go back and share our findings."

"Yeah." Marisa stands up. "Let's go back."

They go back and Alice watches them go through a similar conversation but she notices something. _'Hm. The three of them are not as agitated as last time. Is it because of the smaller circle? Hopefully nothing veered off predictions.'_ She takes out her watch and coughs into her hand. "Ahem. I am afraid I have to go now." She looks at Kaida. "I will be visiting the temple."

The Hakurei shrine maiden nods her head. "O-Of course."

Marisa waves her hand. "See ya later Alice."

Sanae slightly bows her head. "Thanks for your help."

Alice nods her head. "I wish you good luck in resolving the incident." She floats up and toward her house. _'I will have to wait for several days before I can visit Eientei.'_ She sighs, _'I suppose I should refine my play in the meantime.'_

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_Days later..._

_On the way to Eientei..._

"...and honestly, would it really hurt her to hold back a bit? It's such a pain to regrow my spine back."

Alice nods and listens to Mokou describe her visceral 'spars' with Kaguya as they walk through the Bamboo Forest. She stares at the white-haired woman as the immortal waves her bag around.

"...now I'm going to get back at her with this." Mokou turns her head. "What is it? Is there something on my face?"

_'There will be.'_ Alice shakes her head. "No. Your plan sounds interesting."

Mokou grins as she looks forward. "It's a sure-proof plan." They reach the front gates. "I got this."

Alice stands back as Mokou and the Lunar princess reenact their predicted behavior.

"It is too early for their shenanigans."

Alice turns to see the Eirin at the door. "Good morning doctor."

The doctor turns to the witch. "Good morning and I keep saying Eirin is fine. In any case, Reisen told me you have an appointment?"

"Yes," Alice slowly tilts her head as she stares at the Lunarian doctor. "I do."

"Hm," Eirin looks up and down. "I see." She turns her head toward the lunar rabbit. "Take care of all of my appointments today."

Reisen nods her head. "Yes master."

Eirin waves her hand at Alice. "Follow me." They walk all the way to her private room. "So how was my advice from our last appointment?"

Alice takes out her notes and opens it for Eirin to see. "Significant improvement. Your adjustments were efficient as it used less energy but I still went back to the same date."

"Hmm," Eirin takes out her notes and starts scribbling onto them. "I think I can do better. Let's see what we can do."

Alice takes out more notebooks and spreads them. "There are your notes."

Eirin picks up a notebook and looks at her '_own_' notes. "These are quite extensive."

"I have made many trips."

The doctor reaches for another book. "I am surprised Yukari did not catch you."

Alice shrugs as she touches her arm sleeve. "We also made sure to target a date when she is at her busiest and weakest."

Eirin looks up at Alice. "You made holes in her barriers."

"Nonsense." Alice walks closer to the table. "We stopped that method some time ago. In addition, this is the second time I went before the moment I implement that plan."

Eirin picks up another notebook. "So this is new territory."

"I am fortunate since my trip of last week coincided with Yukari's inactivity." _'At least I hope she is busy to notice this.'_

"In any case," Eirin places down the last notebook and starts writing. "It seems your major concerns will be power input and absorption. The further you want to go the more power you need. Theoretically you can go back to that time 5 years ago but the power needed would be—"

"Immense, but where I obtain my power sources will be a problem." Alice starts writing. "If I jump with no power on my side of the jump, my landing will absorb substantial amounts of energy around me and that will attract too much attention. Going back five years," Alice shakes her head. "I might absorb a sizable tract of land or severely weaken the barrier."

"So you use both methods. You gather power before you jump and have the rest of the energy requirements be supplemented by the surrounding area of your landing." Eirin looks at Alice's waist. "You can use that as a source."

Alice briefly touches her girmore and then shakes her head. "No. This will be only as the last resort. I want to maximize the efficiency first before I am forced to use it."

Eirin nods her head. "In that case, I will modify it to be more efficient." The room briefly goes silent as the doctor writes down new formulas. "By the way," Eirin looks at Alice. "Do you have a location for your final jump?"

The corner of Alice's lips briefly quirks upwards. "I do."

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_Human Village..._

_After the play..._

"...Thank you for viewing this play and I hope all of you enjoy it." The crowd cheers as her dolls collect donations. Alice raises her hand. "Now I will be taking a short break before my next play so," The blonde waves her hands to the nearby stalls. "Be sure to enjoy the refreshments." Alice walks down the stage and takes a seat on a nearby chair.

"That's some interesting magic you used there ze."

Alice turns to see Marisa. "Hello Marisa."

The human witch walks to stand in front of Alice. "Yo. So when did you add magic into plays?"

"I thought of it recently." Alice flicks her fingers and watches as her dolls change costumes. "I do hope it was not too much."

"It was one of your best performances."

The both of them turn to see Keine. The teacher smiles at Alice. "Not only did you add in extra flair, you also taught many lessons for the children." She turns to the human witch. "Hello Marisa. How have you been?"

"Yo." She takes a bite and gives a wave. "I'm doing alright. You?"

"Good as well. Other than that, how are your patrols? Anything of note?"

"Hmm," Marisa tilts her head. "There was a small incident a week ago but not much else."

_'Now they see it as a trivial matter,'_ Alice brings one of the dolls over and smooths the dress out.

Keine smiles, "Thank you Marisa."

Marisa takes a glance over the stage. "Oh, seems like the crowd is going back to their seats. Gotta go before someone takes mine." She gives a two-finger salute. "Can't wait to see your next play. See ya later ze."

Alice and Keine wave their hands at the retreating blonde. Alice stands up. "Well then, it is time for the second play." The dolls crowd around her and she takes—

"Ah wait." Keine has her hand outstretched. "What," Her eyes flicker to one of the dolls. "Is your next play about?"

Alice smiles, "Oh it is just a small story of how a certain teacher was involved with a princess and doctor who made a fake moon to replace the real one." She turns her head and pats one of the dolls; it is wearing a copy of Keine's clothes. "I believe the children should know some history of this world."

Keine's cheeks grow pink. "I, *_sigh_* okay."

"Do not worry. I will not tell everything about that incident." Keine sighs in relief. "But I am sure the children will be curious and would like to know your involvement."

Keine puts her hands over her face. "This is so mortifying."

Alice keeps her smile as walks up the stage.

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_'Hmm, should I purchase something else?'_ Alice looks at both directions of the pathway. _'Maybe Suika and Sukuna would like to try something different.'_ The blonde finally nods and walks to a different direction. After Alice bought her first purchase, she notes a head of silver hair in a crowd of people. _'Ah. it is Youmu.'_ Several people clear out and Alice has a clearer look of her.

She has a black ribbon that is tied at the side of her head and she has a light shade of blue eyes. She is wearing a white shirt with a green vest on top. For her lower half she was a green skirt that reaches to her knees. On the left side of her waist there is a katana and a wakizashi. Behind the woman there is a cart full of food and a faint wisp of a cloud.

_'Probably for her mistress.'_ Alice stays in place as Youmu orders more food. _'This is interesting. Is she here because the village in a less tense state or because I took a different path? In any case,'_ She turns back to buy a new order of foods. _'I will have to write it down.'_ Alice flicks her hand and her dolls pick up the bags. She turns around and floats to her home with a squad of dolls behind her. _'I should go home early give them a surprise.'_

* * *

**.**

**.**

**Fin.**

**So now Alice is reliving the past with some small changes here and there. How many more jumps will she make? Find out in the next episo****— chapter of One More Time... Damn that was cheesy.  
**

**So one note about this piece is that this is my first time writing anything related to time powers.**

**With that said see you all in the next chapter.**

**Thanks for reading**

**Constructive criticisms are appreciated**

**Bravo Tango out.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Not much to say so let's get right into it. **

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

_'Blah' _— Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*_Blah_* — Sound effects in speech

(**_Blah_**) — Author's notes

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of** **Touhou Project; they belong to Jun'ya Ota aka ZUN. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**

* * *

"Yo."

Alice's ponytail sways to the side as she turns toward the door to see Suika. "Yes?"

The oni leans on the doorway and points her thumb behind her. "Sukuna is going to make lunch and she wants to know what you're in the mood for."

The blonde leans back on her chair. "Hmm. I think I would like—"

_Knock Knock_

"Yoo Hoo. Is anyone home?"

Alice shoots up from her seat and stares wide-eyed at Suika; the oni is also wide-eyed. A moment later Sukuna shoots up to them and tries to keep her voice low. "It's Yukari. What do we do?"

The blonde takes a breath to calm her racing heartbeat. _'Calm down.'_ She looks at the two youkais. "Please greet her into the house." Before they interject she continues, "We have to appear calm and not suspicious toward her."

Suika nods, "Okay. What about you?"

Alice starts collecting her notes and placing them in the suitcases. "If she asks, just tell her that I am busy in the restroom."

"Got it." Suika closes the door and the both of them walk out of the door.

_Knock Knock_

"Is no one home?"

Suika's voice is loud through the wall. "Chill Yukari. We'll be there in a second."

Alice weaves her hands and multiple dolls land on various places around the room. The blonde hears the front door opening and then voices filters through the house. She places her hands on the suitcases and an intricate seals appear on the surface before it disappears. The puppeteer carefully opens a piece of the floor and slowly places the cases into the hollowed opening. The blonde puts the floor back and stands up to glide over to her bookshelf. She picks up random notebooks and glides back to her table to place them all over the wooden surface. Alice puts the same seal onto the books and opens several of them.

The puppeteer stands back and then nods, _'It should be good enough.'_ She glides to her restroom and checks herself on the mirror. She checks her clothes and pulls on her long sleeves to make sure her arms are covered. The blonde checks to make sure her grimoire and ribbon are secured on her waist before she takes one last look on the mirror. _'It seems to be good so far.'_ Alice takes a deep breath and opens the door.

She walks down the stairs and the first thing she notes is Yukari at the dinner table. She has purple eyes and blonde hair that reaches to the middle of her back. The blonde has a white mob cap with a red thin ribbon tied on the front of said cap. She has a white and long-sleeved frilled dress with a purple tabard on top. There are two red bars stitched on the chest-are of the tabard while there are several black bars on the stomach-area. At the end of the tabard there is a Yin-Yang orb that is filled out with red and purple colors. On her hand there is a paper fan while there is a parasol leaning at the edge of the table.

Yukari turns her head to glance at Alice and puts her tea cup down. "Why hello Alice." She smiles and gives a small wave. "It has been too long since I've come to visit."

Alice nods as she sits on the chair across Yukari. "Good morning Yukari." Her dolls pour tea and she hears something clatter in the kitchen. _'Must be Sukuna.'_

Suika was on Yukari's right and she leans back on her chair. "It's been like what?" She holds up her hand. "A year?"

Yukari nods in agreement. "Something like that. I've been very busy so I apologize for not visiting sooner."

Suika waves the other youkai off. "It's fine. You got your hands full with the Barrier and other things."

"Ah yes the Barrier." Yukari picks up her tea cup and takes a sip. "It's interesting to see new residents slip in during the recent years. It's also interesting to meet and talk to new people." She places her cup down. "In fact, I made a new friend a couple of days ago."

Suika snorts, "A friend? You?"

Yukari mock-gasps, "How rude. I can make friends. Anyway, he is someone of a short stature." She glances at Suika. "Smaller than you. He fell through the gaps about two years ago and made his home in a forest. He is a quiet one and he likes to sleep."

Alice places down her cup. _'Where is she going with this?'_

Suika shifts her weight. "Sounds like someone you'd get along with."

Yukari smiles, "Oh we hit it off splendidly. We became friends so fast, he told an interesting story that happened a couple weeks past. You see, he was sleeping in his bed when he heard a strange sound outside of his home. He looked outside and saw a peculiar sight. He saw someone standing in middle of dead plants and in between two bodies. He became scared that he left his home in order to hide."

Alice feels a chill creep up on her spine but she remains stone-faced. _'Where was he hiding from?'_ She carefully places her hands on her lap and prepares her wires.

Suika seems to become animated with the story. "Did your friend tell you who it was?"

"Yes but you see, it was the strangest thing. Before he left his tree-house, the moon was out and he was able to catch the person's face." She leans forward the puppeteer. "That person he described looked awfully like you Alice."

_'That tree?'_ Alice feels her heartbeat increase but she keeps a calm face. "That is a bold accusation."

"Oh trust me it was suspicious to trust him right away." Yukari leans back and spreads her arms. "Why would the venerable Alice Margatroid do something like that? And so I went to the place and I recognized that type of energy." Yukari spreads her fan and covers her mouth. "So Alice, how many times have we had this conversation?"

Alice clenches her mouth and she—

_BOOM_

The house shakes from the explosion. Alice looks up at the ceiling. _'The fail-safe!'_ She was about to move when the space around her split open; it was as if gaps appeared in the air. Metal poles with hexagonal surface at the end of said poles then shoot out and trapped Alice in place.

Yukari stays in place with her smile. "Please do not resist Alice. Le—"

"Rarrgh!"

Suika jumps out of the chair and thrusts her fist toward Yukari. A gap appears above Yukari and took her whole. Suika's fist continues through the air and smashes the chair into pieces.

_Stzsss_

Beams of light cut the poles in half and the pieces fall to the ground. Alice looks behind to see Sukuna grew to a similar height to Suika and she has her needle sword on her hand and her mallet tucked on her kimono.

Yukari appears before them. "I had hoped that the two of you weren't her accomplices." She looks at Suika. "Especially you."

The oni stands in front of the magician. "Go Alice."

As Alice turns around, she spots a flicker of hurt flash through Yukari's eye and then she is up the stairs. She reaches to her room and rips the door open to see chaos; someone with nine yellow tails is staggering around the room and is trying to fend off her automatic dolls. _'Ran.'_ Ran has blonde hair and a pillow hat that conforms around her fox ears. Her white dress and blue tabard was marred with soot. She is coughing and waving her hands.

Alice flexes her fingers and her wires connect to the dolls, making their attacks faster and more precise. "Shanghai. Hourai." She waves her other hand and the duo dolls make their way to the secret part of the floor. The attacks seem to be too much for the fox youkai and she disappears into a Gap portal. Alice looks around the room as she shifts her way to her named dolls. The magician flicks her hand and some of her dolls formed a perimeter while the others took out the suitcases.

_Boom_

_Stzsss_

Alice looks at the floor as she hears the battle rage on her first floor. She commands her dolls to pick the suitcases and she runs to the corner of room. She mutters under her breath and a shield appears around her and the cases. She then raises her voice as loud as she could. "Suika! The house does not matter anymore!"

"Alright!"

_Fwom_

In one second a part of the house was destroyed and Alice sees Suika's giant leg. The spell disappears and Alice flies through the opening. She notes Sukuna on one side of Suika's shoulder and then lands on the other side. "Oh my," The blonde looks around. "I am quite honored to have such distinguished guests at my house." She glances at her house. "Or what is left of it."

At the front of them there is Yukari, Ran, Youmu, and three other figures beside the Gap youkai.

Alice looks at the smallest figure. _'Chen.'_ Chen has a green mob cap with her cat ears sticking out of said hat. She has a white blouse with a one-piece dress on top that has oriental designs and frilled edges. On her back there are two black cat tails.

Alice shifts her sight to the pink-haired woman at Yukari's side. _'Yuyuko.'_ She has a blue mob cap with a triangular headpiece. She is wearing a blue kimono and there is a paper fan on her hand.

Lastly, there is another pink-haired woman floating off to the side. _'Kasen.'_ She is wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with a green skirt below her waist and she has a red tabard on right arm is completely covered with bandages.

_'I remember Suika mentioning that she is an oni in disguise. With that noted...'_ Alice looks over the group again. _'This can be a problem.'_

"Alice." Yukari calls out. "Hand over your notes and let this foolishness be done with." She looks at Suika and Sukuna. "You two as well. Don't let her drag you anymore than she has already."

"So," Even when whispering, Suika's voice rumbles through Alice's body. "I had my suspicions that it was time travel."

"Yes. I am sorry for not informing you."

The giant sighs, "It's fine, I did tell you not to tell me after all. Other than that," Suika slightly turns her head. "Did you really kill those two?"

Alice sighs, "It was not intentional." Before Suika or Sukuna speak, Alice elaborates, "When I finish my plan, No one will be killed. After all, I am going to the past."

Suika breathes through her nose. "Fine. So where do you need to go?"

Alice looks to the front. "I need to go to the Scarlet Mansion."

"There huh..." Suika grins, "Alright I have a plan..."

.

.

.

Yukari taps her paper fan. "Well?"

A giant flying boulder and beams of light were their answer.

Yukari's party dodges out of their way from the projectiles.

Alice floats away from Suika's shoulder and mutters under her breath, "Arise, Goliath Doll." There was a flash of light and a doll the size of Suika appeared at the side, destroying the rest of her house.

Yukari narrows her eye as her group floats back to their earlier position. "So this is your answer."

Just as Yukari turns her head, Alice jumps off her doll's shoulder. "Now!"

"Gotcha!" Suika picks up the Goliath doll and throws it at the group with all of her might. "You can have it!"

At that moment, it can be argued that the doll was the fastest object in Gensokyo. _'It truly is an experience to see Yukari's surprised face.'_ Alice twitches her fingers.

_BOOM_

The gigantic doll exploded and the force disorients them while a huge plume of smoke covers their vision.

Suika turns around and holds out her hand. "Hurry Alice!"

As she floats down to the hand with her dolls and suitcases, she mutters under her breath and a small area is enclosed by a golden oval. The oni grips the oval and winds her arm behind her head. Alice looks at them. "Thank you both."

Sukuna looks to the side. "I hope you will succeed Alice."

Suika grins, "Just fix everything when you go back. Also say hi to past me." Suika launches Alice through the air at the direction of the Scarlet Mansion.

Alice looks behind just to catch Suika divide herself into thousands of smaller clones and then the scene disappears. She looks down to see trees blurring past her vision. _'I should be close to—'_

_Fwish_

_Crack_

The world spins around Alice's vision before she hits the ground. Her barrier breaks and Alice bounces off the ground. Alice looks up as she sees Ran with a flaming fist on top of a suitcase. _'No!'_ She pulls her hand and a doll nearby fires off a red beam at the fox youkai. The fox jumps away from the beam of light but that created distance from her and the case. _'Now!'_ The puppeteer thrusts her hands out and the wires connect to the cases. With the connection, she pulls the cases toward her.

Ran steps forward with her hands covered in her wide sleeves. "Surrender yourself Alice."

The magician looks up to see Ran's clothes are still partly covered in soot. Alice stands up as she catches her breath and commands Shanghai, Hourai, and a few other dolls into a defensive formation. "And why would I do that?" _'I need to move now. Suika and Sukuna will not last long.'_

Ran shakes her head. "Please stop this foolish endeavor. What would Reimu—"

"Do Not. Speak. Her. Name." Alice clenches her fists as she tries to reign in her emotions. _'Not now. Stay focused.'_ "I apologize for my behavior."

"No, it was my fault for being insensitive." Ran apologized. She lowers her shoulders. "Will you—"

_Thwack Thwack_

Large ice pieces pierce the ground where Ran was. "Don't bully Alice!" Cirno, Daiyousei, Rumia, Mystia, and Wriggle land in front of Alice.

Alice widens her eyes. "What are you all doing here?"

Cirno turns her head. "We saw Chen's boss lady hit you and we came to see what was going on."

Ran narrows her eyes. "Do not interfere. This does not concern you lot."

Cirno spreads her arms. "It does when you try to hurt Alice."

The rest of group agrees with the ice fairy. "Yeah!" They form a circle around Alice and they face the fox youkai.

Ran looks over them. "This is your first and last chance to leave. I will subdue you, even if you are Chen's friends."

The green fairy steps closer to the witch. "Miss Alice," Daiyousei whispers, "What do you want to do?"

Alice brings the cases closer to herself and whispers back. "I need to get to the Mansion."

"We're actually close there," Daiyousei whispers back.

Cirno must have heard them since she crouches down with her hands out. "Alright Team. Looks like we're running and shooting."

Wriggle shifts around. "Who's making the first move?"

Alice notices the dolls on the ground next to Ran. "Girls." The group listens, "On my mark, we run." She clenches her hand and the dolls light up.

Ran widens her eyes. "Not agai—"

_Boom_

"Go!" Alice turns around and jumps to—

"Wait!" Cirno and Daiyousei grab Alice's hands.

"Wha—"

The girls pull Alice with them as they run. "Stick close to the ground. The trees can give cover."

Alice nods, "Right." She levitates slightly off of the ground and starts gliding away. The girls let go of her hands and follow after Alice. The witch keeps her cases close as she weaves through the trees and hears the girls shouting around her.

"She's at our right." Wriggle holds out her hand and a green ball of light shoot toward Ran. The fox easily jumps out of the way and throws a ball of purple light toward Alice at high speeds.

"Incoming!" Cirno creates a wall of ice and blocks the attack.

"She's on our left now." Mystia shoots a beam of red light, but Ran easily ducks out of the way and creates another ball to throw it at Alice.

This time Alice moved Shanghai with a shield to deflect the attack.

Daiyousei perks up. "She's aiming for the cases."

Cirno shoots icicles while the others use various types of spells. "Keep up the pressure. We're almost there."

The group exits out of the forest and into a clearing with the Mansion in front of them.

Cirno pumps a fist. "Yes!"

"Don't celebrate just yet," Wriggle comments. "Were not there yet and we just lost the trees."

_'She is right.'_ Alice speeds toward the building. _'Now we are in an open field.'_

_Crack_

"Ah!"

"Cirno!"

Alice looks behind to see one of Cirno's wings broken. The ice fairy grins, "I'm good I'm good. It just surprised me."

The puppeteer shifts her attention to see Ran up in the air and far away. _'She is using long-range.'_ Alice turns to the group. "Move in different directions. Do not move in a straight line." The blonde witch moves in a zig-zag motion and then the girls follow suit.

_Pop Pop_

Holes would appear near Alice, specifically near the cases.

Cirno flies close behind the witch. "Oi she still aiming for Alice." The ice fairy points her hands in the general direction of Ran. "Make a light-show Team!" Icicles materialize and fly in the general direction before the rest of the team join their leader.

They reach over a small crest to see the gate and Meiling. "We're here!"

Meiling walks forward. "Oi what are you all doing here?"

The girls stop and cheer for the guard. "Meiling!"

The guard steps back. "What-" Meiling narrows her eyes and leaps behind Alice.

_Ping_

Meiling swings her fist to deflect the beam. "I suggest you to stop Ran! You are attacking an honored guest of the Scarlet Mansion. If you continue this action, my lady will be most displeased." After several seconds pass by, Meiling drops her stance and turns around. "She's gone now." The main guard turns to Alice. "So what is this about?"

Alice straightens up and pats her clothes to get rid of any dust. "Yukari knows."

Meiling's eyes widen before she squares her shoulders. "I see." She leans to the side. "Mya. Tell Sakuya that Alice needs her help. Liri, go and sound the alarm."

"Yes Sifu." The two fairies fly to the Mansion.

Meiling raises her voice. "Guards!" The rest of the fairy guards on the wall stand at attention. "Prepare for battle."

"Yes Sifu!"

Alice turns to Cirno and her team. "I believe you all should leave this place. It will become a battlefield soon."

Cirno has her arms crossed. "Nope."

"But—"

"We're your friends Alice. We want to help you. And besides," Cirno points her thumb to the fairy guards. "Not going to leave my other friends behind."

"Yeah!"

"Of course we're going to fight."

"~We're staying~"

"Now it's our turn to return the favor."

"Let us help you Miss Alice."

Alice stares at them. "You girls..." She crouches down and hugs them with Hourai and Shanghai on her side. "Thank you."

They stay in that position before Cirno taps her arm. "Okay you should go in and do whatever you going to do."

Rumia tilts her head. "~What is that by the way?~"

_'They deserve to know.'_ "I am—"

"Ah there you are Alice we should be going."

Alice jerks and turns to the side to see the head maid. "Sakuya."

"Let's go." Sakuya grabs Alice's shoulder and presses her stopwatch.

Alice blinks as the both of them are in the library.

"Alice? Sakuya?" Patchouli peeks from her book. "What are you two doing here?"

_eeeeeeeEEEEEEEeeeeeee_

Patchouli stares at them. "Who's attacking us?"

Alice answers first. "Yukari knows." She rips open her cases to take out her notes and chalk.

Patchouli glances at Sakuya. "Get Remilia."

Sakuya disappears and then reappears with Remilia in tow. "What the- Do any of you know what is going—" Remilia stares at Alice and her dolls are drawing fast but still carefully. "Ohhhh." She shrugs, "Guess it was bound to happen. Right then." Remilia starts walking toward the door. "Sakuya stay here. I'll send Flan and extra guards here for extra firepower."

Patchouli stands up from the desk. "And where are you going?"

"To the front lines." Remilia turns her head and grins, "What kind of Mistress would I be if I don't lead the troops?" She opens the door and closes it after her.

Patchouli looks at Koakuma. "Get my instruments."

"Y-Yes Master." The demon flies away.

Patchouli floats closer to Alice. "What can I do to help?"

Alice briefly flickers her hand and Shanghai floats to a suitcase. The doll picks up a notebook and floats over to Patchouli to give the book. Alice continues to draw. "It is a spell to prevent from Yukari teleporting into this room."

The librarian picks up the book and opens it. "Who created it?"

"_You_ did."

Patchouli raises her eyebrow but does not comment. She then floats to the center of the room and has one hand out. She begins muttering under her breath and then the room lights up in a purplish glow.

The doors fly open and Flandre with a squad of fairy guards charge in. "Alice!"

Patchouli huffs but she recasts the magic.

The guards stay close to the entrance while the younger vampire jogs to the puppeteer. "Alice. What's going on? Why are we getting attacked?"

Alice looks at the circle. _'The next part can be done with just Shanghai and Hourai.'_ She lets her dolls continues the tracing and she turns to the shorter blonde. "Flandre. Yukari is going to attack this place to capture me."

"Why?"

Alice sighs, "I am planning to travel back in time."

Flandre tilts her head. "Travel... so you're going to the past?"

"Yes."

"But why?"

Alice softly smiles, "For Reimu."

"O-Oh." Flandre stays quiet as she looks down. After several seconds, she grips her fists and looks up. "I'll help you with everything I got Alice."

Alice crouches down and hugs Flandre. "Thank you."

Flandre grips Alice's dress. "I'm happy to help."

_Vrsh_

Alice looks up to see the room flare up in color before it disappears. _'Seems to have worked.'_ She turns to Patchouli. "Can we see what is going on outside?"

Patchouli nods and waves her hand. A rectangular screen appears in front of them to show the front. They can see Remilia, Meiling, and other guards at the gate. In the air there is Yukari, her group, and a robed figure.

Alice narrows her eyes. _'Who is that?'_

_Tap_

Alice turns to see Shanghai with the chalk. _'Right.'_ She crouches down starts drawing again. The blonde listens to their conversations as she traces the ritual.

"Remilia."

'Yukari. What are you doing on my property?"

"You're harboring a fugitive. Release her and you won't be dragged in as well. After all, why should you and your staff get in trouble for someone's delusions?"

Alice clenches her mouth.

"Hah! I thought Gensokyo accepted everyone. Or is it just people who don't cause too much trouble for you."

"You're a resident as well."

"I choose my battles."

"And this battle?"

"I'm going all in."

"I see. Ran. Take care of the front."

_BAM_

The library shutters from some force.

"Damn it! She went straight for the library! You! Take whoever you can and help Patchy."

_BAM_

_BAM_

"Tsk," Patchouli floats in front of Alice with Flandre by her side; the librarian has the Philosopher's stone around her while the vampire has her Lævateinn in her hand. "I should have sealed the entire Mansion. Alice how much longer?"

"I am almost done." She can hear the doors splinter under the force.

_Crack_

_BAM_

_CRACK_

Alice looks up as the doors break from the force; Patchouli, Flandre, and the guards fly away to evade the broken pieces. Through the opening, Yukari, Kasen, and the robed figure step in; Yuyuko is staying behind to keep the guards outside the library at bay. The magic around the room flickers but stabilizes.

_'Focus.'_ Alice goes back to finishing the drawing.

She hears Patchouli's voice. "Flandre. You're going to have to fight against Yukari while I will take the pink-haired one. Koakuma, take the squad and hold out against the one with the cloak. Sakuya, provide long-range support but you must stay with Alice. Everyone clear?"

Yukari's voice cuts in. "This is your last chance Alice. Don't drag your friends into this."

Patchouli cuts back in. "Everyone clear?"

"Clear!"

"Let's give Alice time."

Battles rage around Alice as she focuses on what is front of her.

_Pew_

"Watch those lasers!"

_Pow_

"Ria is down! Get her out of here!"

_Clang Clang Clang_

"Did you think your clones will give you the advantage in this fight?"

"Stay away from Alice!"

Alice grits her teeth as she puts in the finishing touches. _'Finally!'_ She stands up and takes in the chaotic scene in front of her. Flandre and her three clones are constantly attacking Yukari. Patchouli releases spell after spell to prevent Kasen from advancing. Some of the fairy guards are down but Koakuma and the rest of the squad are exchanging magical projectiles with the robed figure. Yuyuko is slowly being pushed back into the library as more fairy guards join in the counter-attack. The blonde witch looks to the side. "Sakuya."

Sakuya turns to note the completed ritual and pockets her knives. She takes out her watch and clicks it open. "Whenever you're ready."

"NO!"

Alice turns to see that Yukari threw her parasol straight to the puppeteer's head.

"Shanghai! Hourai!" The dolls bring up their shield and sword respectively as they fly into the parasol's path. Hourai flies to the side of the parasol and swings their sword to cut the it in half. It was not enough as the front portion of parasol is still flying towards Alice and so Shanghai deflects it with their shield at a downward angle, changing parasol's path again. _'It is still going to hit!'_ Alice steps back to avoid the projectile but the tip of the parasol caught onto her clothes.

_Rip_

"Ah!"

Alice's clothes tears at her side and the force also spins Alice on her feet. She staggers as she tries to—

_Thunk_

Alice stops as she slowly looks down to see an arrow protruding from the left side of her inscribed stomach. "Ah..." She starts to feel numb from her waist her legs give out. She stares as her blood starts to stream from the wound and cover the runes on her body.

"ALICE!"

The puppeteer strains herself to look up to see Yukari with a shocked look on her face. "I see now..." Whatever Yukari was about to say was cut off as Flandre punches her in the cheek. Yukari crashes to the ground and the clones tackle on top of the tall youkai.

"Take her bow away!"

Alice turns her head just in time to see the guards grapple the robed figure to the ground and take away the bow. As they struggle, the figure's silver braid drops out. _'I see.'_

"Alice!"

_'It's Patchouli.'_ Alice looks down to see her arms limp. _'Ah. The arrow must be enchanted with something.'_

"Sakuya! What are you waiting for!? Activate the spell!"

"I-I can't Miss Patchouli! Alice has to activate her part first!"

_Clink_

Alice looks down as she feels something vibrating from her dulling sense; her grimoire is brimming with power. _'Ah the fail-safe.'_ The book opens and power surges through her body and partially recovers her mana.

_Gasp_

"Alice!" The blonde witch looks at the purple-haired librarian. "Activate the spell! Do it now!"

_'Right.'_ Alice gathers enough energy to activate the spell. The ritual lights up as th—

.

. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

.

Alice staggers and then falls to the dead grass on her side. _'I succeeded, but I utilized almost all of my energy.'_ Exhaustion sweeps all across her body and Alice feels her eyelids grow heavy. _'I feel...so tired.'_ As she closes her eyelids, she hears two small voices:

"MAMA!"

"Mother!"

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Fin.**

**Phew this one was a doozie. It seems the big players don't like Alice trying to go back in time. Will she do better next time or will she be stopped?  
**

**Anyway not much to say so I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

**Thanks for reading**

**Constructive criticisms are appreciated **

**Bravo Tango out.**


	7. Return

**Here we go! **

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

_'Blah' _— Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*_Blah_* — Sound effects in speech

(**_Blah_**) — Author's notes

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of** **Touhou Project; they belong to Jun'ya Ota aka ZUN. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**

* * *

"...ther."

Alice's eyes stay closed as she wakes up again. _'Where...'_

"...ma."

Alice curls into herself as the voices have gone silent. She clenches her mouth as the pain on her stomach flares out signals up to her brain.

After several moments of silence, the voices have returned. "...rai, can you cut and pull out the arrow?"

"I don't think I should. We don't know what will happen if I do."

"What should we do then?" The childlike voice gets closer to Alice's ear. "Mama, please wake up."

Alice groans as she opens her eyes to see Shanghai and Hourai in front of her.

"Mama!" Shanghai smiles and reaches for a hug but Hourai pulls her back.

"Be careful." Hourai places Shanghai next to her. "She just woke up."

Alice blinks her eyes. "What is—" She hisses as the pain flares up again.

"Mama!"

"Mother!"

_'How... are they speaking? Are they...'_ The puppeteer closes her eyes. _'Focus. Figure that later.'_ Alice takes several deep breathes. _'Almost all of my mana is gone. It seemed she enchanted the arrow to have some kind of draining effect.'_ Alice opens her eyes as slowly gets on her feet and inspects her wound. _'But I do not feel the effect anymore so it either had a time limit or the time spell interfered with it. Regardless I have to get home.'_ Alice finally looks up and she feels nauseous.

The sunlight shines on the mummified bodies that litter the ground around her.

_'No... I truly am sorry.'_ Alice stares at their vacant eyes. _'The attack must have changed my location and I did not have enough energy on my side.'_ Her eyes stop at a tokin hat. _'Now the Tengu will be involved now.'_ She looks around and spots Youkai Mountain. _'The Moriya Shrine will be involved and thus Kaida as well.' _The blonde sighs, _'This is going to be a disaster.'_

"Mother."

Alice turns to see Hourai holding onto the sliced parasol. _'It must have transported alongside with me.'_ She then stares at the red-eyed doll.

.

.

.

"Mother."

Alice twitches and then focuses back onto the puppet. "Yes? ...Hourai."

"We should go now."

The blonde witch cradles her wound as she takes one more look around the area. "Yes... I should."

Shanghai floats in front of Alice. "Isn't the Mansion closer?"

Alice shakes her head. "I need to gather my materials." She looks down to see her pool of blood. 'I need to hide this.' The blonde kicks dirt onto it and after her blood has been covered up, she tries to fly.

_GASP_

"Mama!" Shanghai holds onto Alice's shoulder as the witch lands back on the ground. "Are you okay? Let us help you."

Alice collects her breath. _'I cannot fly high in this state but I think I can float close to the ground.'_ She looks at the doll. "...Shanghai. I am fine, but do you think you can you help me?"

Shanghai beams, "Of course!" The doll takes on some of Alice's weight as they float forward.

Alice stares at Shanghai and then at Hourai; the latter nods her head. _'Do they have a conscio-'_ The blonde clenches her mouth as the pain reminds her the arrow that is protruding from her stomach. She looks forward as the three of them float away from the dead. _'I need to memorize the formula.'_

.

. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

.

_Click_

Alice closes the door behind her and leans on her wall; she is panting for breath. _'It took more effort than I expected to sneak in the daylight.'_ The blonde raises her hand to find crusted blood on her palm. _'The pain has dulled and I think the bleeding stopped but,'_ The witch looks down at the tail-end of the arrow. _'It seems to be preventing me from recovering my mana past a certain point.'_

"...that would be a good place..."

Alice looks up as she hears Suika and Sukuna talking in the living room. _'How far did I travel back? Before or after their trip?'_ Alice plods her way to her living room as her dolls trail after her. As she comes through the corner she sees the two youkai packing their luggage. "It is good to see you two still here."

"Oh hey Alice we wer- Alice!?" Suika drops her clothes and jumps to Alice's side. "What happened?"

Sukuna floats by as she frets, "Are you okay Alice?"

Alice looks at Suika. "It is related to our deal." She tries to smile at Sukuna. "My health is not deteriorating if that answers your question."

Suika look at the arrow. "How come you didn't pull that off yet?"

The blonde shakes her head. "Unfortunately I cannot as it is enchanted and I am unsure what would happen if I try to remove it."

The Inchling then settles on Suika's shoulder. "When did this happen?"

"Not too long ago."

"Mother." Everyone turns to Hourai. "We don't have enough time."

Alice nods her head. "I know."

Suika raises her eyebrow and points a finger at Hourai. "Why is your doll talking?"

Shanghai waves her hand. "Hello." They awkwardly wave back.

Alice shakes her head. "It will take too long to explain." _'Not even I know what is going on exactly.'_ "Back on topic, my method is to travel back in time and I came from the recent future."

"Really?"

"I know it is hard to believe but here." Alice waves Hourai to show the damaged parasol. "This should confirm your suspicions."

"This is..." Suika takes the item and looks it over. "This is definitely Yukari's. So unless you just fought her right now, what happened?"

"She found out what I was doing and tried to stop me. As you can see..." Alice points at the arrow. "She almost succeeded." The blonde looks at both of them. "Please. I need your assistance."

Suika and Sukuna look at each other before they look back. "You got it."

"Thank you." Alice begins toward her stairs. "Collect your valuables and necessities. We will not use this house anymore."

"Okay."

"You got it."

Alice is at the front of the stairs when she hears the footsteps behind her. She turns to see Suika and Sukuna waiting. "You two are not going to your rooms?"

Suika raises her gourd while Sukuna raises her mallet and then the oni points at the luggage behind them. "We got everything we need. We want to help you."

"Thank you again." The four of them help Alice into her workshop and the puppeteer tells them what to bring. After several moments, everything Alice needs is packed into multiple cases. "Suika can you shrink them for me?"

"Sure." The oni touches the cases and they shrink. Suika picks them up and pockets them.

"Thank you." Alice and her party take their belongings and step out of the house. The blonde looks at the house. _'Thank you for everything. I will return soon.'_ "Shanghai. Hourai. Come here please."

The two dolls float close to Alice. "Yes?"

"...Can you please refrain from speaking out? I am sure my wound will raise many questions and I would like to finish that situation first before we talk about your... speaking."

"Okay Mama."

"I understand Mother."

"Good." She then turns to the youkais. "Let us go." The group lightly hovers off the ground and float their way to the Mansion.

.

. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

.

The party was close to the edge of the forest when they were stopped by a familiar voice. "Hey Alice!" They turn up to see Cirno and her team. "Hey horny lady and tiny girl. What are you all going here?"

Alice was about to answer when Daiyousei gasps, "Miss Alice are you okay?!"

"What?" The team floats closer.

"Oi oi." Suika steps up but Alice places a hand on her shoulder.

"It is fine."

The team stops in front and Cirno gawks at the wound. "What happened to you?"

Alice looks at each member of the team "Would all of you follow me to the Scarlet Mansion? I will explain everything there."

"Well..." The girls look at each other.

She stares as their hesitation. "You can also meet Flandre."

"Flanny?" Cirno and the girls perk up. "Okay. I guess we can go with you but you better tell us what happen."

"Of course." Alice gestures forward. "Would you like to lead the way?"

"Sure." The girls float ahead as they would look at Alice from time to time.

Suika leans close to Alice and whispers, "You sure about this?"

Alice nods, "Yes. Yukari will definitely find me before I can activate my spell and we need more allies to help us."

Suika raises her eyebrow. "How many will be on Yukari's side?"

Alice shakes her head. "Too many." The gate comes into view. "I will tell more later."

The party reaches to the gate and Meiling steps forward. "Well this is an unusual group." The main guard's eyes widen as the team part ways to reveal Alice. "Wha-Alice?! You're—"

Alice raises her hand. "They know." She tilts her head. "Or at least they will know."

A few seconds pass before Meiling responds, "I see." She looks at the group. "Do they know?"

Alice rubs her fingers and feels the dried blood. "Somewhat. I am planning to tell the whole story soon in the library."

Meiling nods, "Okay." She then turns around. "Mya, tell Sakuya that Alice is here and she needs help. Liri, escort the party into the building until Sakuya shows up."

"Yes Sifu." Mya flies to the Mansion while Liri opens the gate and waits for the group.

Alice nods her head. "Thank you and be careful out here."

Meiling nods back. "You got it."

The group follows Liri into the massive building. Sukuna and the team made small sounds as they marvel at the decorations. After a moment Sakuya appears in front of them.

"Whoa!" Some of the girls jump in surprise at the sudden appearance.

Sakuya gives a small bow. "Welcome to the Scarlet Mansion." She raises her head and her eyes briefly widen at Alice's wound but she remains professional. "Liri, you can go back now."

Liri bows her head. "Yes Ma'am." She leaves the group.

Sakuya takes out her stopwatch. "Alice, I can take you to the library immediately."

_'That would sound nice.'_ But Alice shakes her head. "Unfortunately no. This arrow is enchanted and I do not know the full effects of it."

The maid pockets her watch. "As you wish." She glances at the group and then at Alice; the blonde nods back. "This way everyone." She walks forward with the group following after her.

Suika leans close to Alice. "So time travel huh? What's it like?"

Alice raises her clean hand to her chin. "It feels odd since I knew certain events would repeat itself in my perspective. Also your future self said hi."

Suika raises her eyebrow. "Really? That's it? Wh—"

"Ah!" They turn around to see Flandre in one of the hallways they passed. "What are you girls doing here?"

"Flanny!" The Team jumps around the young vampire and hug her. "We miss you."

"I miss you too." After a while they separate. "So what are you all doing here?"

Cirno points at the magician. "We're here to help Alice."

"Alice?" Flandre walks to the front and then stiffens. "_*Gasp*_ Alice what happened? Are you okay? Who did this you?" Flandre then scowls, "Whoever did this I will make sure to explode them."

Alice smiles, "Hello Flandre. For your questions, I will answer them soon when I get to the library. Until then, will you wait?"

Flandre then pouts, "Fine, but I'm still going to explode the person who did this to you."

_'Unfortunately I still need her.'_ "We will see, but let us go. The library is close by." The group resumes their walk as Flandre joins with the Team.

They reached the Library's entrance and Sakuya opens the doors. "Miss Patchouli. Alice and her party are here."

"Alice?" Patchouli floats down from the 30 meter tall bookshelves. "You're not supposed to come until—" Her stoic eyes finally widen. "Alice!? Are you alright?"

_'I really do hope that is the last reaction.'_ The blonde magician smiles, "I am fine Patchouli." She can feel everyone's gaze. "At the moment."

The Librarian stares at for a few moments and then points at a chair. "Sit here."

"I told you—"

"Sit. Here." Patchouli turns to her servant. "Koakuma, find all books that contain recovery magic and bring it here."

"Y-Yes Master." The red-haired demon flies away.

Alice smiles at the librarian's insistence. "...Okay." With Suika's help, Alice plods her way to the chair and eases onto the cushioned seat. _'Ahhh, it has been some time since I sat down.'_

Patchouli floats over and holds her hand over Alice. "I sense something from the arrow." She then looks over to the maid. "Bring Remilia here. She needs to know what is going on."

Sakuya bows her head. "Of course Miss Patchouli." She presses her watch but she does not come back.

"Hm, Sakuya probably is getting Remilia ready for the day." Patchouli looks over to the group. "As for the rest of you, get comfortable and try not to dirty the books." Hearing a chorus of 'yes', she turns to Alice. "It seems to be preventing you from regaining your mana."

Alice nods, "Yes, but I believe the original effect was to absorb all of my magic."

"What changed?"

"I believe that when I traveled back, the effect changed into this."

"Possible theory."

_Click_

They two of them turn to see Sakuya and Remilia nearby. The vampire looks around and then stops at Alice's wound, particularly her blood. "Huh." She then looks up at Alice's face. "So I guess things didn't go so well in the future."

_'That is putting it lightly.'_ Alice tries not to shift too much. "Yukari and her mysterious friend almost succeeded."

"So what happened?"

"Before that, I would like to get this arrow out of my body."

Patchouli lowers her hand. "Since you didn't do that before, I assume you are unclear of the consequences."

Alice nods. "Yes." She turns back to the vampire. "I would like Sakuya's assistance."

"Sakuya?" Remilia turns to the maid and then back to Alice. "Sure."

"Thank you." Alice turns to the maid. "Sakuya I need you to get the doctor from Eientei." She raises her hand to stop the maid. "Tell the doctor that I am just hurt. Do not be specific of my wound. But before that, you need to go to the Human Village and grab Mokou."

Sakuya raises her eyebrow but stays silent.

"Once you get to Eientei, make sure to ask for Kaguya to come with you. Tell her that I need her to be here. Also be sure to use your powers sparingly."

The maid nods, "I will be back soon." A second later she disappears.

"Master!" Koakuma wobbles as she floats down with books. "Here are the books I could find with recovery magic."

Patchouli plucks the top book. "Thank you Koakuma." She opens the book and then holds her hand out. A green glow appears and then disappears. She frowns, "The arrow is absorbing my magic."

"I suspected so," Alice sighs and then looks around. _'I guess now is a good time as any.'_ She turns back to Patchouli. "Can you call everyone here? I believe it is time to explain the situation."

Her witch friend stares at Alice. "...If you're sure." She steps back and coughs into hand. "Ahem. Will everyone please come here? Alice has something to tell you."

After a few moments, everyone gathers around the blond magician. "Everyone, I apologize for not explaining myself sooner." Alice breathes in and out. "I... am not the Alice you know. I am from the future." She raises her clean hand to stow any protests. "Please. I would like to finish my explanations first. I will answer any questions afterward."

Alice shifts her weight again and clears her throat. "For many months I have worked on different ways on how to perfect my method to travel back in time. As you might suspect, I could not do this alone and made certain alliances with certain people." She tilts her head to the blue-haired vampire and librarian. "They have provided me the resources and power while the good doctor from Eientei provided me with the formulas. It was a long process and I made my first jump eight months in the future. After that, we would make small changes and slowly go further back in time."

Alice takes a breath. "Everything was going well until I made a mistake and it almost cost me all those months of hard work." She glances at her wound and looks back at the group. "That mistake made me commit another mistake." The puppeteer looks at Suika. "I am sorry that I broke my promise Suika."

The oni blinks at the attention but then frowns, "What happened?"

"...In order for the spell to work, it needs a vast amount of energy and that can be supplied in three ways. The first is that I would need to gather all of the energy needed before I make the jump. The second option is that the spell will absorb the surrounding area of energy as I complete the landing. Lastly, the third option is the mixture of the first two options. I gather a certain amount of energy and have the spell gather the rest when I make the landing."

Suika puts her hands on her hips. "Where are you going with this?"

"Since Yukari almost caught me, I had to make a desperate jump. Because of that, I had no time to gather my portion and the spell resorted to the second option." Alice takes a breath as she keeps staring at Suika. "A group of youkais are dead and several Tengus were among them. I am truly sorry."

Mutterings start to break out at that piece of information.

"What?"

"What's going on?"

"Did someone die?"

"Did Alice kill someone?"

Suika walks forward "Oi! Oi! Quiet down!" The group goes silent as the oni stops in front of Alice. "You don't look too hung up about that."

"It is because I know that they are not permanently dead. When I succeed, no one will not die."

Suika crosses her arms. "Is that the excuse you tell yourself?"

"Yes." Alice winces at her own sudden answer. "I know it is a weak excuse but whenever I jump, I do not know who will be in the area. I regret at the lives temporarily lost but I cannot stop when I am so close to my objective. I will not stop."

"U-Um," Everyone turns to Daiyousei and the small girl shies under the spotlight.

Alice instinctively leans to the side but she stops herself. "Yes?"

She takes several seconds to compose herself. "W-What is your goal?"

Alice softly smiles, "I want to go back to Reimu."

Everyone who had learned about Alice's plan sobers up.

Alice looks off to the side as her eyes lose clarity. "Just one more time..."

Cirno jumps up. "I'll help you Alice!" Everyone had various reactions to the ice fairy's declaration. "If your plan time-jump thingy works out, no one dies and you get to save Reimu. It's a win-win for everyone."

Alice stares at Cirno. "Are you sure? You will be fighting against Gensokoyo's most prominent and powerful residents."

"Why not?" Cirno points her thumb at herself. "You got the strongest with you so you got nothing to worry about."

Daiyousei stands up as well. "I-I will join with you Miss Alice."

Wriggle is next. "Guess I gotta follow the leader."

Mystia follows, "Same."

Rumia jumps up and spins around. "~This will be fun.~"

Flandre stands up and nods her head. "I will do everything I can to help you Alice."

Alice stares at them. "Everyone..."

Suika and Sukuna stare at each and then give a nod. The oni take a seat beside Alice while the Inchling sits at the edge of the table. Suika leans back. "Guess we're staying here."

The blonde magician looks at both of them. "You two... but I broke the deal."

"Yes you did but," Sukuna shifts her weight. "We are here to help you as friends."

"Way I see it," Suika lazily waves her hand. "We're just spending time with you and 'helping' you if trouble comes knocking.

Alice looks down. "...Thank you."

"Ah. What a beautiful display of friendship."

Everyone turns to see Sakuya, Kaguya, Mokou, and Eirin at the entrance. _'I am glad the chair is blocking my wound from their view.'_

Kaguya turns to Mokou. "You should perform like that more often."

"Psh," Mokou shoves her hands in her pockets. "As if we're friends."

"You're right... our relationship is quite unique."

"Guh."

Sakuya bows her head. "I have brought them as you requested Alice."

Alice nods her head. "Thank you Sakuya."

Eirin starts walking while holding her case. "There you are Alice. Sakuya wouldn't tell me what exactl—"

Alice brings up her clean hand. "Wait a moment." The blonde magician tilts her head. "Kaguya, can you come over here?"

The raven-haired princess points at herself. "Me? Are you sure? I haven't played doctor decades ago."

"Heh," Mokou looks to the side. "They probably only called you to tear something out."

"And you've been giving me plenty opportunities to practice that."

Alice cuts in. "Can you please come here? I did promise to show you something interesting."

Kaguya raises her eyebrow as she walks past Eirin and stops in front of Alice. "Oh," She bends down and inspects the arrow. "Oh my." She smiles at Alice. "This is very interesting indeed." The lunarian princess keeps her smile as she shifts her attention to her doctor. "Eirin, you can check Alice now. This might be a complex diagnosis even for you."

The doctor raises her eyebrow as she walks over to them. "I'm sure that with my expertise that—" Eirin stops and stares at the arrow wound. "...That..."

Kaguya places her hands behind her back. "What's wrong Eirin? It's just an arrow wound. Something I'm sure you can treat it even with your eyes closed. By the way," Kaguya inspects the arrow again before standing in front of Eirin. "Those feathers look eerily similar to yours Eirin. After all, I did watch you personally pluck the feathers before we were exiled from the Moon."

It took several seconds for everyone to process the information and then it elicited several reactions from the group. Some gasp while Suika, Sukuna, Patchouli, and Flandre surround Eirin.

"Wait." Alice grabs everyone's attention with her bloodied hand. "While her future-self did betray me, I believe she can still help." The four of them lower their stance but did not relax. "First, Can you please remove your arrow?"

"Yes Eirin." Kaguya smiles with her eyes closed. "Remove it and heal her."

"...Yes Princess." She slowly places down her case and inspects the arrow.

Suika walks close. "If you mess up, know that you're surrounded and I will make sure you will curse your immortality."

Kaguya smiles, "No worries Suika, she knows the consequences." She then turns her attention to Alice. "In the meantime, can you tell us how this happened?"

Alice winces as Eirin performs a quick operation. "Before that, please do not be too harsh on this Eirin. She was not the one to release the arrow." She takes a breath. "Unfortunately I only saw Eirin at the last moment. She was wearing a robe to hide her face."

"How did you know it was her?"

Alice sighs in relief. _'The effect must have been canceled.'_ "Several fairy guards subdued her and," Alice points at Eirin's head. "Her braid fell out of her hood."

"Yes!" Cirno pumps her fist into the air. "Go team fairies!"

"C-Cirno! Please sit down." Daiyousei tugs Cirno to sit down.

Alice smiles, "Other than that, I did not know why she was there." She then grits her teeth as the doctor surgically pulls the arrows off. The blonde then sighs in relief as her body starts to recover magic. _'Ah that feels better.'_

Eirin finishes the impromptu operation by sewing the wounds left by the arrow. "All done Princess."

Kaguya claps her hands. "Perfect timing. Now, why would your future version go behind Alice's back and help Yukari?"

The doctor taps her chin. "I would say that Yukari would have to call in all of her favors for me to act in that way."

"I'm flattered that it costs you that much to betray Alice but still peeved that you would still help Yukari." Kaguya waves it off. "In any case, I now order you to help Alice in your fullest capacity and _not_ to deter her in any shape of form."

Eirin nods her head. "Of course Princess."

Kaguya looks at Alice and smiles, "There you go. You have our full support and I hope it's enough compensation for future Eirin's actions."

"Thank you for your help Kaguya, but I am surprised you would be fully involved into this."

"Why not? You showed me something interesting and from what I gathered, something fun is going to happen soon. And besides," Kaguya gives a thumbs up to both Alice and Sukuna. "Us princesses got to help each other out."

Alice slowly rises up and bows her head. "Thank you again."

"No problem. Now then," She turns and makes her way to her fellow immortal. "I need to make sure if Mokou can keep a secret."

Apparently Mokou heard Kaguya as she shakes her fist. "Oi I can keep a secret. Actually why should I help you?"

Kaguya sweeps her arm. "Aren't you curious why so many people are helping Alice? In addition," She turns to the puppeteer. "Are you going to involve anyone from the village?"

Alice shakes her head. "When I succeed, no one will be involved."

"See? Also will it be alright if I fill her in?" The puppeteer nods her head. "Great!" Kaguya places her arm over Mokou shoulders and leads her some distance away. "Now that..." The rest of the conversation is lost.

Suddenly there is a green glow around Alice and she starts to feel better. _'Recovery magic.'_ She turns to the side to see Patchouli with her hand out. The blonde magician smiles, "Thank you Patchouli."

The librarian nods, "I'm glad to help."

"Well then," Remilia pipes in. "If everyone is going to stay here, I'm going to have to treat them as guests." She turns to Sakuya. "Sakuya, have some maids bring in foods and drinks. After you're done, tell all of the workers to meet me at the front hall."

"Of course Mistress." Sakuya bows her head and then disappears.

Remilia walks to the door and gives a wave. "Wish you all good luck and fill me in later, Patchy."

"Be sure not to get bored along the way Remi."

"Ha. I'm sure you can spin it to be an engaging story." Remilia gives a wave of hand to several members of the group as she walks out of the library. After a few seconds, fairy maids come through the door with trays of foods and drinks.

"Yay sweets!" Cirno, Flandre, Daiyousei, Rumia, Wriggle, and Mystia walk to the other side of the table to eat.

Patchouli moves to Alice's front. "Before we start, I want us to look back on the area of your time travel landing."

Suika takes a seat as fairies place down snacks and drinks. "What for?"

The librarian turns her head to the oni. "Because of the accidental deaths from Alice landing, it won't be long until someone investigates the incident."

Eirin nods her head. "I see. We need to have a rough timeline before Yukari knocks on the front gates." She turns to Alice. "What can you tell us about the area?"

"Hmm," The blonde witch cups her chin. "The area was somewhere between here and the Youkai Mountain."

Patchouli hums, "That means that the Tengu and Moriya Shrine will be on Yukari's side."

Sukuna finished her snack. "Don't forget about Kaida and Marisa."

"Yes. Anything else about the area?" Patchouli asks.

"It was also secluded as it took me a considerable amount of time to find any landmarks."

"So that means no one will find them by accident," Eirin comments. She then asks, "Any detail about the youkai themselves?"

Alice shakes her head. "There were no distinct—"

"There were sake jars and uncooked meat." Everyone beside Alice looks around the room before the settle on Hourai. The doll then bows at Alice. "Apologies Mother, but you did not see crucial details of the area."

Patchouli raises her eyebrow. "...Did that doll just speak?" Her eyes then widen and she looks at Alice. "It called you mother... does that mean—"

Alice holds up a hand. "We are getting off topic." She finally turns to her doll. "Elaborate Hourai."

"Of course Mother." The red-eyed doll looks to the group. "While Mother was momentarily unconscious, Shanghai and I looked around the area to find anything to assist Mother. It was then that I found 30 jars that were filled with clear liquid that smelled similar to the alcohol in Suika's gourd." The doll points at Suika's waist after that statement. "I also found many slabs of shriveled meat but I could tell that they were uncooked and cut meat."

Eirin tilts her head. "Based on these observations, I can assume that these tengus finished their duties for today and would have taken tomorrow as break. From the amount of alcohol, I believe they were planning to party throughout the afternoon and night."

Sukuna leans forward. "So why have tomorrow off?"

"I don't think anyone wants to work after a huge party. In any case, we might have a day to ourselves, maybe more since they do not know about Alice."

Patchouli finally dispels her recovery magic and sits down next to Alice. "What about you Alice? Did you leave anything to incriminate you?"

Alice frowns, "I bled some blood on the ground but I kicked some dirt to cover it."

"Blood then," Eirin notes, "We can hope that they will overlook it but they have wolf youkais with their keen sense of smell and they will most likely come to me for blood analysis." She sighs, "I should probably need to go back and tell Reisen to delay it."

The puppeteer sighs, "The time-frame will be greatly reduced if Yukari involves herself and when Marisa comes to my house."

The doctor tilts her head. "What does the human witch have to do with this?"

"She usually would invite me to help her with the incidents." Alice replied. "When she reports my disappearance, Yukari will easily make the connection that I traveled back in time since she can recognize the specific energy."

"Then Eirin and I will go back to Eientei now." The group turns to see Kaguya behind them. The lunarian princess looks at Alice. "Would that be okay with you?"

Alice nods, "Go head."

Kaguya turns to Patchouli. "Would it be alright if we ask your maid to take us back? With her magic it should be done in a timely matter."

"But Princess," Eirin tilts her head toward Kaguya. "What about Mokou?"

"Alright you girls, let's go!"

They turn to see the white-haired immortal playing with Cirno and her friends.

Kaguya waves it off. "She'll be fine."

Patchouli shrugs, "You're going to have to ask Remiia about it."

"Okay." The princess and doctor make their way to the door. "I'll see you all soon."

After the door closes, Patchouli turns to Alice. "Are you sure to let them leave?"

The puppeteer taps her head "It will be fine since I memorized the formula. Speaking of which," She turns to Suika. "Can you bring my material out?"

"Oh right," Suika stands up and takes out the miniature suitcases. "I totally forgot about them." Suika releases her magic and the cases return to their normal size. "Here you go." The oni places them down on the floor.

"Thank you Suika. While we wait, I can write down what I need." Alice turns to Patchouli and waves her over. "I will also teach you magic that you created in the future."

"Oh?" Patchouli floats next to Alice. "This should be interesting."

As they become engrossed in their writing, Suika taps the area near Sukuna. "C'mon. Let's join the other since we're going to get bored of the magic jumbo."

.

. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

.

After the lunarians returned, the group worked and modified the formula for hours. Along the way, the residents of the Mansion prepared themselves of the coming battle.

"Alice."

The puppeteer looks up from her notes and gazes at Patchouli. "Yes?

"It is late and you should rest."

Alice briefly glances at her notes. "But I still have work to do."

"Which is enough for now." Patchouli gently pries the book from the blonde's hand. "We modified the formula to the most efficient state with our skill set. We just have to wait to acquire more power for you to safely make that five year jump. Not only that, I can tell that you didn't have much time to rest since your last jump."

"I—"

"Rest."

Alice's mouth quirks up. "Okay."

"Good. Now I had some fairies prepare a nearby room for you. If anything happens you'll be the first to know." Patchouli turns her head. "Koakuma, show Alice to her room."

The red-haired demon floats nearby. "Of course Master."

Alice stands up and her muscles protests from the sudden use. "I will leave it to you. Shanghai. Hourai. Let us go."

"Okay Mama."

"Of course Mother."

The three of them follow Koakuma and Alice notes how there are a few of her friends in the library. She then looks at the window to see the moon up in the night sky. _'It really is late. I believe Yukari has not been involved yet.'_ As they walk out of the door, the blonde looks at the walls; they shimmer under a purplish glow. _'At least Patchouli was able to cast the spell on the entire mansion.'_

"We're here Miss Alice." The demon shows Alice to a room.

"Thank you Koakuma. I will see you in the morning." The demon bows and walks back to the library. Alice opens the door to find a queen-sized bed with colored magical crystals on the walls. The blonde sits down and takes off her boots as the dolls float in front of her. She finally looks up to see the dolls staring back. _'...I believe this is the most opportune time to talk to them.'_ Alice coughs into her hand. "*_Ahem_* With everything that has been going on, we did not had a proper introduction." Alice looks at the red-eyed doll. "Hello Hourai." She turns to the other doll. "Hello Shanghai."

"Hello Mother / Hi Mama."

"Well then," Alice places her hands on the bed. "When did you become... aware of your surroundings?"

Hourai is the one to answer this. "We found out we could speak after all of us were in that area."

Alice taps on the bed. _'It could mean that the energy from the ritual awakened something in them. Wait. If that is the case...'_ "He," Alice quickly covers her mouth but her body starts to shake. It did not take long before Alice could not hold it anymore. "Hahahahahahahaha." She closes her eyes and falls back on the bed. _'Of all the possibilities, I accidentally succeeded my most important project.'_ Her laughter peters out and she feels exhaustion creeping into her body. _'I really am tired.'_

"Mama?"

Alice opens her eyes to see Shanghai floating near her head. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Oh yes I am feeling better now." Alice adjusts herself to lay her back on the headboard. "Do any of you remember anything?"

Shanghai and Hourai look each and then nod their heads. "Yes."

"How far do you remember?"

"Ever since you created us Mother."

"I see." Alice tilts her head. "Do you remember anything from the future?"

The dolls shake their head. "No Mama."

_'So they can only remember anything before the specific time that I land.'_ Alice touches her stomach and then her arm where the runes were etched into her skin. _'That makes sense.'_

"Mother."

Alice looks back at Hourai. "Yes?"

The dolls take a glance before they bow. "We are sorry we could not be there for you Mother."

"We wish we could have helped you Mama."

_'Ah, Reimu.'_ Alice smiles, "You have nothing to apologize for." She opens her arms. "Come here." The dolls settle into the crook of her arms. "I will make sure to fix everything when I go back. Now then," Alice shuffles down the bed and settles head on the pillow. "Let us rest for the next day."

Shanghai snuggles close to Alice. "Okay Mama."

Hourai closes her eyes. "Goodnight Mother."

"Goodnight you two." Alice's mind slowly slips into the unconscious realm. _'I wonder if Shanghai and Hourai needs to sleep...'_

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. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

.

_eeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEeeeeeee_

Alice shoots up from the bed just as the door was slammed open by Koakuma. "Miss Alice! Its—"

"Yukari." The walls shimmer to solidify Alice's statement. Alice swings her legs and ties in her boots while her dolls float beside the blonde. She stands up and marches to the door. "Let us go." Koakuma moves aside as Alice leaves the room and make their way to the library. They open the door to see a flurry of action as her friends move around the room. She spots Patchouli, Eirin, and Kaguya in front of a rectangular screen. She walks over there and as she gets closer, Alice can see outside of the mansion.

Patchouli turns around and spots them. "There you are Alice."

Alice stops beside her friend. "What is the situation?"

"Not good." The librarian points at the multiple figures in the sky. "Yukari just teleported her allies."

"Indeed." The puppeteer stares at the army in front of her. Alice can see Yukari and the same group from the last attempt. Now there is a tengu army that consists of crow, wolf, and kappa youkais. Alice recognizes one of the crow tengus. _'Aya.'_ She has a red tokin hat and a pair of large crow wings on her back. She has a white blouse with a black vest on top of it while there is a black skirt that covers down to her knees.

She eyes shift to spot a tall purple-haired woman with a miniature shimenawa on the top of her head. She has white long-sleeved shirt with a red short-sleeved shirt on top. On her waist there is a black skirt that reaches down to her ankles. There are a large shimenawa and several hexagonal logs floating behind her back. _'Kanako, goddess of the Moriya Shrine.'_

To her side is a petite blonde woman with a large wide-brimmed hat that has two frog eyes. She has a long-sleeved shirt that has wide sleeves. On top of the shirt is a purple vest while she has a purple skirt that covers her thighs. '_Suwako, partner goddess of the Moriya Shrine.'_

Alice notices Marisa, Kaida, and Sanae as she scans the rest of the sky but she suddenly stops. "Oh no."

"What is it?" Suika stops next to Alice as she looks at the screen.

Alice points at a particular spot in the sky. "This is worse than I expected." Hijiri, Miko, and their respective subordinates walk through Yukari's Gap portal. _'Why? For what reason would they join Yukari?'_

"This is bad." Suika scratches her forehead. "We were already outnumbered with the tengu army and now we have to deal with these guys?"

Alice notes as more of her allies and friends start to gather around the screen as she turns to the Patchouli. "Do we have enough energy?"

Patchouli takes a peek at the crystals floating around the ritual and then shakes her head. "Not enough. We need more time to acquire more power."

"And more allies," Kaguya joins in. "While I do enjoy interesting challenges, even I know that we need more help." She looks at Alice. "Do you have anyone else to call?"

_'Allies, allies, allies...'_ Alice cups her chin. _'Who can I call for help?'_ She then perks up. "Yuuka and Medicine can help."

Eirin keeps her gaze at the screen. "While Yuuka is powerful and Medicine is strong, we still need more allies. Perhaps your family?"

Alice then snaps her fingers. "Yes." She rushes to one of her cases and searches inside them. After several seconds, Alice takes out a familiar crest. "There it is."

Patchouli looks at the crest. "Makai..."

Eirin looks away from the screen. "But who will go to them?"

Suika steps up. "I can do it."

Alice looks at the oni. "Logically I would ask you to go since you can change you size to bypass their perimeter and you can fight if you were to be caught." She then shakes her head. "But I do not think you should go Suika."

"What? Why?"

Alice glances at the screen. "Because Yukari is your friend and I am sure she has created many contingencies on how to deal with you. Not only that, you have Kasen here as well."

Suika sighs, "Damn."

Sukuna floats up. "I'll do it."

Alice turns to her and stares at the Inchling. "Are you sure?"

Sukuna nods, "I can do it."

Alice stares at her. _'She is royalty and that can make it easier for her to talk to my family.'_ She nods, "Okay," She turns to Patchouli. "Do you have any alternative exits in here?"

Flandre is the one that answers, "There is a secret exit in my room and it leads close to the lake. I can take you there."

The puppeteer looks back at Sukuna "You are going to have someone come with you." Alice turns to look around. _'Who can go with her?'_ Her eyes stop at the ice fairy and her green-haired friend. _'Yuuka knows Cirno and Daiyousei can keep Cirno focused.'_ "Cirno. Daiyousei. Can the both of you go with Sukuna?"

Cirno flexes her arms. "You got it."

Daiyousei nods her head. "Of course Miss Alice."

Alice turns to Patchouli. "Can you give them a map and show them the areas?"

Patchouli nods her head and leads the three of them to the table.

"Hello Remilia."

The group turns to the screen as Yukari speaks.

"Hello Yukari." It seems Remilia is at the front gates. "That's a lot of friends with you there. Are you having a party somewhere?"

"A party? no no no. We're actually looking for Alice you see..."

_Tap_

Alice turns around to see Patchouli by her side. "They're ready."

Alice look to the front do to see Flandre, Cirno, Sukuna, and Daiyousei. She nods at them. "Good luck."

They nod back and Sukuna gives a wave. "I'll see you soon Alice." They open the door and leave.

Alice turns back to the remaining group. "We need to find a way to distract Yukari. Any ideas?"

Suika shrugs, "We can make a huge light-show for them."

Eirin offers her input. "You can talk to them to stall for time."

"We can fight them later." Alice turns to Patchouli. "Is there a way to communicate to them?"

"Yes, hold on." Patchouli forms a clear crystal in her hand and gives it to the blonde magician. "Here. This will amplify your voice from the crystals I implanted around the mansion. Every time you want to speak to them just pour a little amount of your mana."

Alice accepts the crystal. "Thank you." She clears her throat and then activates the crystal. "Hello Yukari."

Everyone around the mansion looks around before they look at the mansion. "Alice," Yukari sighs in relief, "Thank goodness you're alright. We found your blood and we thought the worst has happened. We also—"

"You can drop the façade Yukari."

"What do you mean Alice? We are all worried—"

"The both of us know that you have already figured out this situation. Now then, what do you want from me?"

Yukari drops her act. "We want you to surrender yourself Alice."

"Oi oi." Marisa floats forward. "There's no proof she did it. C'mon Alice, just tell them that you didn't do it ze."

Alice sighs, "I am sorry Marisa but those youkais died because of me."

Her face fell at the statement. "Why Alice?"

"First, I would have to say that I am not the Alice you know as I came from the future." Alice can see the confusion on all of their faces except for Yukari. _'It seems she did not tell the others.'_ She glances at Eirin. _'Of course, she did not have enough information.'_ Alice glances at the religious factions. "And what about you two? Why are the Buddhists and Taoists involved in this youkai incident?"

Hiriji subtly glances at Miko. "Some of the deceased followed my teachings and have visited my temple from time to time."

Miko subtly glances at Hijiri. "Same here. Yukari told us that you can be a danger to the village."

Alice narrows her eyes. _'I see. She is blackmailing the both of them.'_ "That is not my intention."

Yukari brings them back. "What is your goal then Alice?"

"My goal? Simple. I want to travel before the Meteor incident."

"The Meteor... you want to save Reimu."

The floating youkais and humans start to mutter themselves at the mention of _that_ incident.

Alice stays silent as she notices Flandre coming back; the vampire gives a thumbs-up and Alice nods her head. _'I need to keep stalling.'_

Yukari shakes her head. "I'm sorry Alice but we can't change the past. No matter how... tragic it is, we have to move on. Not only that, you had made a great name for yourself Alice. You are one of the few youkais that is bridging the gap between the village and youkais. You made many friends and you became an outgoing person. Unless of all that was a fake persona?"

Alice shakes her head. "No. All of my actions are genuine, but I could not live without Reimu."

The screen catches one of the tengu's comments. "I can't believe how far she's going for one person." The prominent youkais and humans nearby glared her into a shameful mess.

"Why that little..." Suika whispers.

Alice closes her eyes and lets her heart take over. "I miss the way she would smile at me when I come visit her home. I miss the way she would try her best to cook meals with me. I miss the way Reimu would pour her heart into tending her garden. I miss the moments of how she would act lazy but was still willing to resolve incidents. I miss the moments of when she would defeat people but she still makes them her friend. I miss the moments when I would catch her staring at my face and how she would blush. I miss the moments of when we would just sit down together and watch the world around us." Alice sighs, "I want to see her one more time."

Alice can feel her tears trail down her cheeks. When she opens her eyes and wipes the tears away, she finds a peculiar sight. _'Oh my. This is a rare sight to see.'_ Marisa and some of the youkais have tears on their faces; even Yukari is blinking and covering her face with her fan.

Kanako clears her throat and speaks for the first time. "Even so. You still killed those youkais."

Alice squares her shoulders. "Do no worry, their deaths are not permanent. When I succeed, their deaths will be reversed."

Yukari lowers her fan. "The amount you will need to travel back five years will be tremendous. So much that it will affect the barrier."

"Do not worry. I have a plan for that."

"Are you willing to tell us?"

"Even if I did tell you, would you allow me to continue?"

"...No, I suppose not."

Alice turns around and turns off the crystal. "It seems this is the limit. Anyone can leave and help Remilia." She glances at the head maid. "Unfortunately you have to stay here Sakuya."

Sakuya bows her head. "My Mistress had the fore knowledge to order me to stay here."

Suika makes her way to the door. "Let's get ready for an all-out brawl then." She stops at the door and stares at Alice. "I hope we can become closer friends when you go back."

Alice nods her head. "That sounds wonderful"

Rumia, Mystia, Wriggle, and Flandre are the next to go. "~You should make food for us.~"

"We should swap recipes."

"It would be nice to play with you."

"Visit the mansion more often."

Alice smiles, "I would like to try."

Kaguya drags Mokou to the door. "Eirin can you stay here and look after Alice?"

The doctor bows her head. "Yes Princess."

Kaguya turns to Alice. "Good luck and I hope you succeed Alice. After all of this is over, you should visit Eientei and open a bakery."

Mokou perks her head. "You should also do more plays at the village. I'm sure the kids will love them."

The puppeteer bobs her head. "I will look into that."

Kaguya leads her fellow immortal out the door. "Come Mokou. Let's see who can get the most take-downs."

"Probably more than you..."

The room goes silent as Patchouli, Eirin, Sakuya, Koakuma, Shanghai, and Hourai stay in the room. Alice then turns to Patchouli. "What is the status of the storage?"

Patchouli looks at the crystals and shakes her head. "We still need more time."

"Hopefully those three got there in time." Alice turns back to the screen as the two sides face a tense standoff.

One of the crow tengu thrusts her palm forward. "What are we waiting for? Let's capture that magician." A ball of light shoots out and then the rest of her comrades follow suit.

Yukari's eyes widen, "No! Stop!"

"Take cover!" The fairy guards duck under the walls or raise their magical shields.

Remilia holds out her hand and a red spear materializes. She throws it at the tengus. "Gungnir!"

"Look out!" The youkais fly away from the spear's path.

"So," Alice looks at the battle. "It has begun."

Energy beams and balls of various colors fly in every direction.

One of the crow tengus points at the gate. "Close quarters! We have the numbers!"

"Yes Ma'am!" The wolf tengus charge in first with their shield in front.

Just as they came close to the gates, the front doors swing open and Suika flies into the fight. "LET'S GO!"

_Poof_

Suika splits into hundreds of herself and the clones jump onto the tengus.

The tengus recoil from fear. "What!? They have an oni with them!?"

Just then the rest of the new defenders show up at the door. Flandre then slams the doors behind them. "Do not let them through! Fight to your last!"

Some of the tengus start to waver at the new defenders, especially at Suika. Yukari looks at the religious factions and nods her head. The leaders nod back and the factions charge into the gate.

Eirin turns to Alice. "There is a high probably that this Mansion will be breached and we need to think of alternative energy sources. Do you have anything to help?"

Alice bites her lip. "I don- Wait." She looks down at her grimoire. "Maybe..." She looks at Patchouli. "Where are the calculations?"

Patchouli points at a nearby blackboard. "Here."

The three of them go over there and input new data. After a few seconds, Alice drops onto a chair and rubs her forehead. "We are so close. We just need more power."

_Boom_

The mansion shakes and Patchouli moves the screen to them. Now the Moriya shrine and Hakurei shrine maiden have joined the battle. The offensive side is slowly pushing the defenders to the door.

"MASTER SPARK!"

Two yellow beams hit the opposing side, stopping their momentum.

Alice widens her eyes. "Marisa?" She looks at Marisa's spot to see her friend still there.

Patchouli shakes her head. "No. It came from the side." She points at a part of the screen. "Look."

Alice looks at the direction and smiles in relief. "Yuuka and Medicine."

The two of them are joined with a clone of Yuuka. "My oh my." Yuuka swings her parasol as she walks on the air. "Look at how many people are here! And all of you are here for Alice!" She then looks at Yukari. "But it seems that some of you are here to bully Alice." She tuts, "Only I can do that to her." She looks to the side. "Medicine, help those defending at the door. I'm sure your doctor is in there somewhere."

"Okay!" Medicine flies down.

"Now then," Yuuka and her clone point their parasols at the back of the opposing force. "Let's have some fun." The tips shoot out beams of yellow light and hit them full force.

Yukari looks to the side. "Yuyyko. Kasen. Deal with her." The two fly off and intercept the plant youkais.

Alice sighs in relief.

"Don't rest yet. It briefly stopped their push."

Alice looks at the screen to see the defenders still being pushed back. _'Please come soon Mother.'_

Eirin grabs Alice's shoulders. "Do you have anything else? Anything at all?"

"I-I," Alice's mind searches for options. "I do not—"

"Mother." They turn to Hourai. "The spell uses energy from any source correct?"

Alice stays silent. _'What is she...?'_

Eirin answers, "Yes."

Hourai points at Shanghai and places her palm on her chest. "Would our souls be enough?"

"Ye—"

"NO!" Alice shrugs off Eirin and marches up to her dolls. "You cannot give up your live like that! Not when you two were just born two days ago."

Shanghai hugs Alice's face. "You have to use us Mama. It is the only way you can make it in time."

_BOOM_

_CRACK_

"They have breached the front door." The screen shows all the prominent attackers inside the hallways and pushing the remaining defenders back. "It won't be long before they reach here."

"I—"

_VRSH_

The earth around them shakes as the screen focuses on front area of the Mansion.

"Get away from my daughter!"

Alice smiles at the sight. "Mother!" Alice's mother has white hair and a portion of said hair is tied into a side-ponytail. She has red robes and six purple wings near her back.

On her side is a blonde maid who has a similar outfit to Hourai. _'Yumeko.'_

Then on the other side of Alice's mom there are Sukuna, Cirno, and Daiyousei panting for breath.

Behind them is a demon army of Makai.

"They made it." Alice still has her smile. "If we can hold out then we can—"

_Slap_

Alice blinks and then slowly turns her head to see Patchouli in front of her. "Patchouli?"

Patchouli grips Alice's clothes and pulls her in close. "Get a hold of yourself Alice! Your mother won't make it in time." She waves her hand and the screen shows the tengus holding the demons back. The screen then shows the opposing side pushing through the halls and is almost at the library. "This is your only chance! Make your choice!"

_BAM_

That came close to the library doors.

Alice takes a deep breath and releases it. "Thank you Patchouli." The librarian nods as she, Eirin, and Koakuma float to the front of the doors. Alice turns to her dolls. "Are you two sure about this?"

"Yes Mama / Yes Mother."

"I truly wish there were some other way."

"Don't worry Mama. It's our choice."

Alice opens her grimoire and activates it.

_Sssssh_

Power surges through Alice body and her eyes turn yellow.

_BANG_

Alice, Shanghai, and Hourai float to the center of the ritual. Alice nods at the head maid. "I am ready."

Sakuya takes out her pocket-watch. "I'm ready."

_CRACK_

The ritual lights up as the doors break and the remaining defenders retreat back just as Yukari—

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. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

.

Alice falls to the hard-wood floor of her home. _'I... Did I make it?'_

"Mother..."

Alice widens her eyes as she spots them in front her. "Hourai! Shanghai!" She scrambles and picks them up.

Shanghai weakly smiles, "It was so nice to finally talk to you Mama."

"No no no." Tears fall to the floor. "The both of you are going to be okay."

"Go Mother," Hourai's movements are becoming stiff as she touches Alice's cheeks. "This is your chance to be with Reimu."

Alice's opens her mouth. _'How did they—'_

"I think this is it." Shanghai smiles, "I love you Mama."

Hourai smiles, "I love you Mother."

Alice's mouth trembles as she smiles, "I love you both." They keep smiling as the both of them become completely stiff. Alice's mouth wobbles as her head sinks to the floor. "aaah aaaaahhhh AHHHHHHHHHH AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

For minutes she grieved over her daughters. Alice finally stands up and staggers to her table. She places them on the center and kisses their foreheads. "Goodbye." She turns and makes her way up the stairs. The blonde enters her workshop and looks for her calendar as well as her clock. "...I made it. I have time before it hits." She then opens her grimoire to see the words fading into nothing. "I will make it count." Alice swings her arms out and connects her wires to the nearby dolls. Her yellow and blue eyes flare up as she sets her dolls to work.

.

. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

.

_20 minutes later..._

Alice pants as she looks around the forest. "I hope they are around here somewhere." A few seconds later she hears laughter. "There." Alice jogs over to the area and spots the Team playing a game.

They stop as they spot Alice and Cirno then points at her. "Hey it's that Doll lady."

Alice smiles, "Hello, my name is Alice. Is Chen here with you?"

"No."

"I see." Alice holds up an envelope. "May I ask you a favor?

"What is it?"

She offers the envelope with _'Yakumo'_ written on one side. "Can you give this to Chen? She will know who to give it to."

Cirno crosses her arms. "And why should we?

"Cirno!"

"If you do this, I will consider you to be the strongest fairy alive."

The ice fairy grins, "Alright you got yourself a deal." She accepts the envelope. "I'll give it to her when I see her."

"Thank you." She turns and floats away.

As she floats away, she hears their whispers:

"What a weird lady."

"That's rude Cirno."

"But I mean..." Their conversation fades out.

Alice opens her book to see a few pages left. "Almost gone now." The witch stops at the edge of the forest to see Meiling sleeping at the gates. "It is odd to see alone there." She takes out a doll and a letter with Patchouli's name on it. She places the letter on its hands and nudges it toward the main guard. "Go on now." The doll floats to the gates at a slow pace.

"Good. Now then," Alice turns around and speeds through the sky toward the shrine.

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. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

.

Alice crashes and bounces onto the ground. She pants for breath as she picks herself up. "Calm down." She then gets her breathing under control and opens her book. "Nothing is left." The blonde pulls up her sleeves to find pale skin. "Gone." She pulls it down and tilts her head upwards. "Reimu! Are you here?" Silence answers her and she waits with bated breath.

Soon the puppeteer hears footsteps thumping from inside the shrine and the door slides open to reveal the familiar miko. "What the- Alice? Did you finish early? Also when did you change your clothes and hair? I kinda like the new look."

"HahahaHAHAHAHA." Alice has the widest smile on her face as she sprints toward Reimu.

"Whoa Whoa Whoa-Oof." Reimu loses her breath as Alice tackles her into the ground. "*_Wheeze_* Jeez Alice. You alright?"

Alice snuggles into the crook of Reimu's neck and inhales her scent. "I've missed you so much."

Reimu chuckles as she wraps her arms around Alice. "C'mon Alice. You've only been gone for like two hours."

"It's been too long." Alice pushes herself and then lowers her lips to Reimu's. "Mhm."

"Mhm." They stayed in that position for several moments before Alice pushes herself again. "Well that's a nice surprise. Oh," Reimu tries to stand up. "Since you're here, you want to go now?"

Alice nudges Reimu back to the floor. "Not yet. Let's enjoy this moment."

Reimu shrugs and smiles, "Alright."

The blonde caresses Reimu's cheeks as she stares her brown orbs. Alice smiles and—


	8. Alternate Path

**Hello everyone! Glad to see here after the crazy events of last chapter. In any case, I'll talk more at the end of this story.**

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

_'Blah' _— Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*_Blah_* — Sound effects in speech

(**_Blah_**) — Author's notes

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of** **Touhou Project; they belong to Jun'ya Ota aka ZUN. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**

* * *

_Flip_

_Yawn_

Patchouli covers her mouth as she leans back on the support of Alice's bench. _'I wonder if Marisa will come.'_ After some time, the librarian looks at the puppeteer's front porch to note the wooden floor, railings, and pillars. She sighs and looks down at her book. _'I guess I'll read again.'_ Patchouli opens the—

"Miss Patchouli."

She turns her head to look at a fairy standing at the front. "Yes?"

The fairy tilts her chin upwards. "She's here."

"Thank you Mya," Patchouli stands up just as Marisa and another fairy lands on the grass in front of the house. "Finally," Patchouli floats toward them. "I thought you wouldn't show up." She turns to the other fairy. "Thank you for your help Liri."

Liri bows her head. "Of course Miss Patchouli." She then makes her way to stand near Mya.

Marisa plants her broom perpendicular to the ground and leans on it. "And I wouldn't be here but," She points a finger at Liri. "Your friend here wouldn't leave me alone. So," The blonde shrugs and looks back at Patchouli. "Why did you call me here ze?"

Patchouli pulls out an envelope from her robe. "I called you here because of this." She flips it to show a broken wax seal stamp to Marisa. "Alice wanted us to be here."

Marisa's eyes widen, "Is that Alice's will? When did you get that?"

"I received it from one her dolls at the day of... the Meteor Incident."

Marisa steps closer to the librarian. "It's been almost two months since that meteorite hit the shrine and _now_ you bring this up!?"

Patchouli stands unfazed at Marisa's proximity. "She placed a seal on the letter and it recently broke three days ago."

That slightly mollifies Marisa as she takes a step back. "Still... You could've unsealed it."

Patchouli chuckles, "She knew that you would be too impatient to wait." The librarian then sighs, "Back on topic, it took me some time to process the contents and I needed more time to prepare myself for the trip." She then narrows her eyes at Marisa. "Not only that, I sent a letter to you yesterday to meet me here an hour ago. Based on what you said, I was right in sending Liri to pick you up."

Marisa's cheeks flush as her eyes darts around. "L-look I was really busy yesterday ze."

The librarian raises her eyebrow. "Huh."

"A-Anyway, what did Alice tell you in her letter?"

"You're going to have to read your letter."

"Really?" Marisa looks around. "Where is it?"

"In the house."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go ze."

Patchouli sighs, "We're waiting for two more people."

Marisa raises her eyebrow. "Who cou—"

"I'm sorry for being late." They two witches turn to side to see Alice's mother, Yumeko, and Koakuma floating down. "We got here as soon as we could."

Marisa gave a wave. "Oh hey..."

Alice's mother gave a small smile. "You can call me Shinki." She looks at the house. "I'm back..."

Patchouli coughs into her hand. "Thank you for being here." The librarian glances at Koakuma as the demon floats to her side. "Thank you for bringing them here."

Koakuma smiles, "I'm happy to help Master."

"Now then," The librarian looks at everyone. "With everyone here. Let us proceed." She walks to the door with the group except for the fairies. Patchouli brings the envelope close to the door and it flares up in a bright yellow light before it disappears.

_Click_

The door opens and the group walks into the house and sees it untouched. Patchouli swipes her finger across a nearby table and brings it near her face. _'Surprising how the spell held this long.'_ They make their way to the living room and find two dolls on top of the table.

"Isn't this Shanghai?" Marisa walks closer to the table. "And Hourai too."

"Shanghai? Hourai?" Shinki walks to the table as well. "Who are they?"

"Oh uh." Marisa shifts to the side and scratches her neck. "They're Alice's personal dolls. They were always with her wherever she went."

"Oh..." Alice's mother reaches out and caresses their hair. She then turns to the human witch. "Will you tell me more about what Alice did here?"

Marisa starts to fidget under the attention. "Uh well she always like to bake and..."

_'Now is a good time as any.'_ Patchouli waves at Koakuma to follow as they float to the stairs and up to Alice's room. Once inside, the librarian turns to her familiar and points at a stack of cases that are placed in the corner of the room. "Koakuma, find the dolls and put them in the cases." She takes out a slip of paper and gives it to Koakuma. "Use this to make sure you put them in order."

The demon nods her head. "You got it Master." She sets out to do her task.

Patchouli turns back and takes out her envelope. It then flares up and the witch can feel magic coming from a certain part of the floor. _'There you are.'_ She floats there and crouches down to the floor. A section of the floor lights up before the light fades away. Patchouli peels the floor back and finds a box of letters. She stands back up and uses her magic to levitate it off the floor. Patchouli waves her hand again and the box is enveloped in a purplish glow. She then plucks the first three envelopes with 'Mother', 'Marisa', and 'Yumeko' written on the fronts. With the stacks beside her, Patchouli floats to the door. "Once you're done, bring the cases with you and meet me downstairs."

"Yes Master."

Patchouli floats down to find Marisa and Alice's mother sitting on the chairs. The human notices her first and stands up. "What you got there ze?"

"Your letters." Patchouli sees Shinki starting to stand up. "Please. I think you should sit down for this one." She hands her the envelope. "Here." She walks to Marisa. "Here." She then walks to Yumeko. "Here."

_Rip_

Patchouli turns her head to see Shinki already reading her letter. After several moments of silence, she put a hand over mouth and her shoulders start to shake. After that, the white-haired woman drops the letter to cover her face and starts to cry.

"Oh Alice..."

"Mistress." Yumeko tucks her envelope and walks over to sit next to Shinki. The maid places her hands around Shinki's shoulders and offer soft words of comfort.

Patchouli notices Koakuma floating down the stairs with the cases. _'Perfect timing.'_ She opens one of the cases to take out two dolls that are replicas of the Makai residents. Patchouli then places them down. "You have my condolences." The librarian waves her hand at Koakuma and Marisa to follow her as she floats out the front door. Once outside, she waves the fairies over and then looks inside he cases. "Hmm," Patchouli closes one of the cases and floats it over to her escorts. "Here. Take this back to Remilia. She'll know what to do with them."

Mya holds the suitcase. "But—"

The purple-haired magician waves off their protests. "It is fine. I can take care of myself."

Mya and Liri look at each other before the bow to the librarian. "Of course Miss Patchouli." They grab the case and fly off to the mansion.

Patchouli opens a case to take a 'Marisa' doll and turns around to give it to her friend. "Here Marisa." The librarian turns around. "I will see you at another time."

"Where are you going ze?"

Patchouli pats a case. "Alice asked me to give out all of the dolls to everyone she knew."

Marisa walks closer. "Can I help?"

Patchouli raises her eyebrow. "You are not going to read your letter?"

"I can always read it later." She tucks it into her vest.

_'She's is trying to prolong it.'_ But Patchouli shrugs. "I see no problem with it."

"Alright. Let's go."

"Hold on." Patchouli opens the lids and rearranges the dolls into specific cases. After that, she closes the lid and gives half of the cases to the blond witch. "Here. Your share."

"Alright." Marisa weaves her magic into the cases and they float up. "I'll see you later at the mansion ze."

Patchouli shakes her head. "Go home and read that letter after you're done. I will see you another day."

Marisa hesitates and then turns around to pull her hat down. "Yeah. See ya." She flies off.

Patchouli sighs and turns to Koakuma. "Let's go and finish this. I want to go back to the library."

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_Human village..._

Patchouli stops near the village and turns to Koakuma. "You should go somewhere and wait for me."

Koakuma nods her head. "Where should I go Master?"

Patchouli looks around. "Hmm." 'Where is a good place to wait?'

"Master."

The witch turns around. "Yes?"

The demon points downward. "Two people are coming."

She turns toward the direction. _'Ah perfect. From what Alice wrote, these should be Keine and Mokou.'_

Keinie and Mokou floats up and stops in front of the duo. The teacher speaks up. "Hello. You're the Mansion's librarian... Patchouli correct?"

Patchouli nod her head. "Correct. You must be Keine." She turns her head to the other one. "And Mokou yes?"

Mokou gives a wave. "Yup."

Keine clasps her hands in front of her dress. "May I ask what your business here is? Some of the villagers saw your partner and became nervous."

_'It seems Alice was right about their fear.'_ "Ah right." Patchouli opens a case and the box to take out the required contents. "Here. Alice wanted to give you these as gifts."

Keine is the first to accept her doll and letter. "Alice? The puppeteer?"

The white-haired woman accepts the gifts. "Thanks. Honestly I'm surprised I get something since I barely knew her."

_'Oh she knows you.'_ "She wanted the dolls to have a home and not collect dust in her house."

"Thank you for the gift." Keine looks up at Patchouli. "Is there anything else do you need?"

"Actually," Patchouli looks at Mokou. "I need a guide to Eientei."

Mokou sighs and scratches her head. "Alright I guess. You got lucky I had nothing else to do today."

"My thanks," The librarian nods her head to the teacher. "I hope you have a good day."

"You too."

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_Eientei..._

_Knock Knock_

Mokou steps back and raises her voice. "Oi! You got guests."

A moment passes before the gate opens and a purple-haired woman with bunny ears step out. "Yes?"

Mokou gives a nod. "Yo Reisen." She tilts her head to Patchouli and Koakuma. "These two wanted to come here."

Reisen turns to them. "Oh excuse me. Do you have an appointment?"

Patchouli shakes her head. "No. I am just here to give Alice's gift to all of you. If you can, can you call your masters here?"

Reisen wrings her hands. "Master is busy and Princess Kaguya is..."

The librarian floats close to the lunarian. "Let me help you then." Patchouli leans close and whispers, "You can give Alice's message to your Princess: 'I know how you feel about a certain immortal.'"

Reisen looks steps back and looks at Patchouli. "...I will relay the message. Excuse me." She bows and leaves.

After a few moments of silence, Mokou leans on the wall. "You could have just used my name to get them out here. I'm sure Kaguya would've come over in a n instant."

Patchouli tilts her head. "Would the two of you fight?"

The immortal looks up for a second and then looks back at the purple-haired magician. "Yeah."

Patchouli looks at the cases that contain the dolls. "Then no. This was the safer option."

Mokou shrugs and looks at the bamboo trees.

Moments later, Patchouli hears quick footsteps approaching close to her and then the gate is slammed open; Kaguya pants as she looks around and then stops at Mokou. "Urk."

Mokou raises her eyebrow. "What's wrong with you?"

"Ahem." Everyone look behind to see Eirin. "Now this is an interesting sight to see. What are you doing outside the library?"

Patchouli takes out several dolls and a couple of letters. "I am here to give Alice's gift to you."

"Oh?" Eirin accepts the letter and doll.

"Oh this is so cute." Kaguya jumps over and takes her doll and letter. She then takes a glance at Mokou and opens the envelope.

Reisen tries to balance herself as she holds onto multiple dolls of herself and other rabbit youkais.

"That seems to be everything." Patchouli looks at Mokou. "I'm ready to leave."

"Alright." Mokou pushes off the wall and give a wave as she walks back to the village. "I'll kill you later Kaguya."

Patchouli and Koakuma follows after Mokou.

"Awwwww." It was Kaguya's voice. "That sounded really interesting."

_'It seems now they know what could have been.'_

The white-haired immortal turns her head but keeps walking forward. "What is going on?"

Koakuma turns to Patchouli. "Where to next Master?"

Patchouli sighs. "Yuuka." _'I hope my breathing spells will be enough.'_

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_Garden of the Sun..._

"Hah...Hah..."

"Master I think we should go back." Koakuma fidgets with her hands as she stands close to her master.

Patchouli has her hands on her knees as she gasps for breath and then shakes her head. "No. Alice asked me to do this."

"Oh?" They look up as Yuuka walks toward them with her parasol opened. "What's this about Alice?"

Patchouli stands up. "I—" Patchouli goes into a coughing fit.

"Please," Koakuma pleads, "My Master has asthma and it is difficult for her to breathe."

Yuuka rolls her eyes. "Then why is she outside if it's such a problem for her?" But she waves her hand.

_'It's getting easier to breathe.'_ Patchouli stands up and stares back at Yuuka.

Yuuka twirls her parasol. "So what brings a recluse like you out into the world?"

"I am here to pass on Alice's gift to you."

Yuuka's eyes widen, "Alice..." She then narrows her eyes. "Why did it take this long? It's been almost two months since that incident."

Patchouli shrugs as she takes out two dolls and a letter. "Her house was recently unsealed."

"Oh?" Yuuka tilts her head. "How did that come to pass?"

"Alice had a magical timer and she gave me the keys to her house." _'Not an actual key per se.'_ The librarian walks to the green-haired youkai and presents the gifts. "Here."

Yuuka hooks her parasol onto the crook of her arm and accepts the gifts. She brings it near her face and then her lips quirk up. "Meticulous as always." The green-haired youkai glances at Patchouli. "Thank you for giving these to me."

"It's no problem." Patchouli then nods her head. "Until next time."

"Until next time."

Patchouli and Koakuma leaves the garden and makes their way toward Youkai Mountain. _'Now then. I hope Sukuna knows where Suika is.'_

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_Around Youkai Mountain..._

Patchouli stares at the inverted castle in the sky. _'I wonder what caused it to be flipped upside down.'_

Koakuma leans her head to the side. "Do we go through the front Master?"

The witch nods her head. "It is the fastest solution. Let's go Koakuma." The both of them float to the front entrance, but Patchouli's eye twitches and she raises her hand up to raise a shield.

"Mast—"

_Ping Ping_

Balls of light dissipate after they made contact with Patchouli magical shield. When the attack stops, Patchouli raises her voice. "Is this any way to treat your guests?"

"Hah! Guests? Puhlease." A woman floats from one of the windows and stops in front of them. She has a white dress that ends in red and then black at the edges. The woman also has black hair with red and white highlights while there are two small horns protruding from the top of her head.

Patchouli keeps the shield up. "We only want to talk to Sukuna."

The youkai crosses her arms. "She's busy and it ain't happening."

The librarian sighs, "I just want to give her Alice's gift."

"Nope." The woman pauses, "Actually why won't you give them to me? I can give it to her."

_'This is too irritating to handle.'_ Patchouli turns to her familiar. "Koakuma, deal with her."

"You got it Master." Koakuma charges at the woman, but just as she pulls out a spell card, the demon was flipped upside down. "Kya!" She recovers and activates her spell card.

"Hahahaha!" The woman places her hands behind her head. "That's what you get for underestimating me."

_'Hmmm.'_ Patchouli watches as Koakuma's projectile swerve in multiple directions. _'I wonder...'_ She shakes her head. _'Focus.'_ She charges up her spell.

The woman notices Patchouli's attack and smirks, "Oh you're joining in too? So much for being 'strong.'" The librarian shifts her aim to the castle and youkai's face pales, "Oi oi oi—"

_Fwump_

_BOOM_

Patchouli detonated her spell before it struck the castle and the shock-wave shakes the castle. _'That should get her attention.'_

The youkai stares in shock before she snaps her head and glares at Patchouli. "Why you—"

"Seija? What's going on out there?" Sukuna then opens the front door. "Oh?"

"Hello," Patchouli floats toward the Inchling. "You must be Sukuna." She dips her head. "I am Patchouli Knowledge."

Sukuna returns the gesture. "Hello Miss Knowledge. May I ask the reason of your visit?"

Patchouli opens the cases to pull out two dolls and several small envelopes. "I'm here to give Alice's gift to you."

"Oh?" Sukuna blinks at the gifts but she recovers, "T-Thank you." The Inchling accepts the letters but frets over the dolls; they are the same size as her figure. 'I-Uh."

_Sigh_

"Here." Seija picks up the dolls of herself and Sukuna. "Hmm. Not bad."

"Master!" Koakuma exclaims as she hangs upside down in the air.

Patchouli looks at her flailing demon and back at Seija. "Can you cancel your spell?"

The taller youkai cups her chin. "Hmm..."

Sukuna frowns, "Seija."

Seija rolls her eyes. "Fine." She gestures with her hand and Koakuma reverts back again. The demon wobbles before she orients herself and flies toward them.

Sukuna smiles at her partner. "Thank you." She turns to Patchouli. "Is there anything you need?"

Patchouli looks at the Inchling. "Do you know where Suika is?"

"Suika?" Sukuna shakes her head. "I'm sorry but we parted ways about a month ago."

_'This can be troublesome.'_ She sighs, "Thank you regardless." The librarian nods her head. "Good day to you both. Koakuma let's go."

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"What do we do now Master?"

Patchouli sighs, "We could try the next day. Maybe we can—"

"Yo."

The two of them turn around to see the oni-in-question step away from a tree. _'When did she...?'_

The oni salutes, "So I heard you two are looking for me. So what's up?"

Patchouli refocuses and reaches into the boxes. "I need to give Alice's gift to you." She takes out a doll of Suika and a stack of letters. "Here."

"Alice?" The oni accepts the gifts. "Any reason why?"

"It's part of her will."

"Her will huh..." Suika caresses the doll and then looks up. "Thanks."

Patchouli nods her head. "It's no problem. In any case, I must be going now."

Suika waves her hand. "I'll see you another time."

Patchouli nods her head. "Good day." The librarian and her familiar take off from the ground.

As the witch floats away, she hears the oni's whisper. "I miss their cooking..."

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_Hours later at the Mansion..._

Patchouli drops into her soft chair and leans her head into the headrest._ 'Ah finally. I really don't want to go outside again.'_ She turns her head. "Koakuma. Put those cases into my room."

"Of course Master." The red-headed demon flies away.

Patchouli shifts in her chair and closes her eyes.

_Click_

"Hmm?" Patchouli opens her eyes and looks around the room. _'Nothing seems to be out of place.'_ Her vision stops at the empty box that contained the letters. _'Could it be from there?'_ She waves her hand to bring the box onto her lap and peeks inside. _'Oh?'_ There is a small opening at the bottom. Patchouli reaches in and pulls the bottom out to reveal a stack of envelopes. _'More?'_ She takes out the top envelope that has her name on the center. Patchouli opens it and unfolds the letter:

_Dear Patchouli,_

_If you are reading this, then it means that you have finished my will and I cannot thank you enough for that. First and foremost, I would like to apologize for dying and leaving everyone behind. I just could not live without Reimu. With that said, I have only given you and Yukari a list of predictions. One favor I ask of you is that I hope you can keep a watch of the outside and make sure she does not take advantage of the situation. Another favor is if you can help my Mother; I asked her to open public relations with the governing bodies here. I know I am asking much but I know you can do it. Last but not least, May I ask you to learn baking? I left my recipes in here for you to bake and I also left your future research. Thank you for everything._

_Your friend,_  
_Alice._

_'I have to go out again? Not only that, but baking?'_ Patchouli puts the box back on the table and leans back on her chair. _'I don't have time—'_ Patchouli chuckles, _'Well aren't you a sly one Alice. Giving me my finished work ahead of time.'_ The magician stares at the letter before she sighs, _'Oh well.'_ She turns her head. "Kaokuma! Find me any books that contain baking. After you're done, fetch Meiling and Sakuya for me."

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_Years later..._

Patchouli looks over the room. "Koakuma. How are our supplies?"

"Everything is in storage Master."

"Koa. How is our tableware?"

A smaller demon that is similar to Koakuma answers Patchouli. "Everything is in order Master." She has shorter hair and has glasses on her face.

The librarian turns to a blonde occupant of the room. "Are you ready Flandre?"

The vampire pats her waitress uniform and gives a thumbs-up. "Yup!"

The magician looks around. "Everyone else?"

Fairy workers pump their fists into the air. "Ready!"

Patchouli opens the door and looks outside. "Meiling. We're ready."

The main guard nods her head. "You got it." She turns to the main gate where there are several fairy guards. "Watch the place for me yeah?"

Mya, Liri, and the guards salute. "You can count on us Sifu."

Meiling pushes the building onto the path that leads to the village.

Patchouli closes the door and turns around to see Koa with her hand up. "Yes Koa?"

The smaller demon lowers her arm. "What's on the menu for today Master?"

Patchouli looks at the calendar and smiles, "The Margatroid Specialty." The workers murmur in excitement. _'A favorite among the customers and workers.'_

The building stops and Meiling opens the door to walk in. "We're here Miss Patchouli."

Patchouli looks outside to see a bustling city in front of the building. She sees humans, youkais, fairies, demons, and other creatures either walk or fly around the area. She turns to the guard and nods her head. "Thank you Meiling. You can go change now." Meiling closes the door and walks to the back. Patchouli looks outside again to see a line forming. _'What a fast response.'_ She walks to the door and turns to the workers. "Places everyone!"

Several fairies walk behind the counter or stand near empty tables while Koakuma, Koa, Flandre, and then Meiling join Patchouli at the door. Patchouli takes a breath before she opens the door. "Welcome everyone, to The Magician's Cauldron."

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**And le fin. **

**Phew! What a crazy journey this has been. So I now I got some finishing notes:  
**

**-The inspiration for this story came from a TV show called Fringe that finished six years ago. If anyone watched the show then they would have some rough idea of how tihs story would end.**

**-One thing that I was surprised was the length of this story; it was supposed to be a short story with a few chapters.**

**-Time-travel is so wonky and hard to write because it feels super tedious to re write a scene with some changes. I know that if I feel it, then the audience will definitely catch on and feel it too.**

**With all that said, it is time to bring this story to a close.**

**Thanks for reading**

**Constructive criticisms are appreciated**

**Bravo Tango out.**

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_Fwum_

Yukari steps out of her portal and walks forward. After several minutes of walking, she notices a large rectangular screen up in the air and at a distance. As she comes closer, she notes the screen is showing the Hakurei Shrine being rebuilt. The Gap Sage glances down to spot a blackish humanoid figure standing in front of the screen. Yukari stops several meters away from the figure and waits.

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**"Hello Yukari."**

Yukari dips her head. "Hello 🅶🅴🅽🅹🅸."

**"What brings you to my humble home?"**

"I have several questions if you don't mind." The figure stays silent. Yukari pulls out a letter out of her sleeve. "Is it true that Alice came from the future?"

**"What makes you think I would have the answer?"**

"Because you wouldn't let this go unnoticed."

**"Hm."**

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"And?" Yukari leads on.

**"Oh right, I was looking at my memories. Yes she did."**

"Is there a reason why you let her travel back to the past?"

**"Originally she wanted to save Reimu from the Meteor."**

Yukari raises her eyebrow. _'Originally?'_

**"But I wasn't going to let that happen because Reimu's death was locked in time. So I brought her here. We had a small talk and I gave her a warning: if she tries to save Reimu, I promised she would live on forever, never to see her beloved again. It was interesting to see her die together with Reimu."**

Yukari waves the letter. "And her predictions?"

**"It didn't interfere with Reimu's death."**

"I see."

**"Is there anything else?"**

"No, that's all. Thank you for your answers."

**"Have fun out there."**


End file.
